beachcomber

UK: /ˈbiːtʃkəʊmə^r/ US: /ˈbitʃˌkoʊmɚ/ ,(bēch′kō′mər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

beach•comb•er /ˈbitʃˌkoʊmɚ/   n. [countable]

1. a person who gathers or collects for sale items from beaches, like driftwood, shells, etc.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

beach•comb•er  (bēch′kō′mər), n. 

1. a person who lives by gathering salable articles of jetsam, refuse, etc., from beaches.
2. a vagrant who lives on the seashore, esp. a nonnative person living in such a way on a South Pacific island.
3. a long wave rolling in from the ocean onto the beach.

• beach + comber 1830–40

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

beachcomber / ˈbiːtʃˌkəʊmə/ noun

1. a person who searches shore debris for anything of worth, esp a vagrant living on a beach
2. (in British Columbia) a person who is paid for salvaging loose logs and returning them to logging companies
3. a long high wave rolling onto a beach