beatnik

American  

[beet-nik] / ˈbit nɪk /

noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a member of the Beat Generation.

2. a person who rejects or avoids conventional behavior, dress, etc.

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beatnik British  

/ ˈbiːtnɪk /

noun

1. a member of the Beat Generation (sense 1)

2. informal any person with long hair and shabby clothes

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Etymology

Origin of beatnik

1955–60, beat (adj.) (as in Beat Generation ) + -nik

Compare meaning

How does beatnik compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• beatnik vs. hippie

Example Sentences

He’s put off by Ginsberg’s aggressiveness, though the aging beatnik softens somewhat when he realizes Hujar isn’t an emissary of the enemy so much as a photographer picking up work where he can get it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

Finally, there is Georgia McCann, a self-styled Gen Z beatnik and events planner whose special talents include throwing parties for Anna Delvey and not washing her hands after she pees.

From Salon • Aug. 2, 2025

How could this crazy beatnik character be Disney?

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2024

That taste ran through the manic era the early ’60s were, a hinge moment between Cold War and Vietnam, Civil Rights and Black Power, repression and liberation; beatnik and hippie; Ab-Ex and Pop.

From New York Times • Jul. 21, 2022

The only way she could’ve helped was if Valmiki liked beatnik poetry.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi