beast

1. An animal, especially a large or dangerous land vertebrate.Examples: "[…] it always had the making of a fine beast about it, but up to the time I had it up here in a stall by itself it did not get the chance to make any headway [ie, fatten], all its mates were down on it and it never seemed to fill itself. […] A big framed beast takes a lot of food — expensive food at that [—] to keep it doing […]"; "Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together."; "‘Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared.[…]’"

2. An animal, especially a large or dangerous land vertebrate.Examples: "Language is what separates man and beast."collectiveoften

3. (slang) Anything regarded as larger or more powerful than one of its normal size or strength.Examples: "That is a beast of a stadium."; "The subwoofer that comes with this set of speakers is a beast."slang

4. (slang) Someone who is particularly impressive, especially athletically or physically.slang

5. (prison slang, derogatory) A sex offender.Examples: "Shouts had been heard: 'We're coming to kill you, beasts.' In desperation, Rule 43s had tried to barricade their doors[…]"; "For many prisoners and in many prisons, antipathy towards 'nonces' or 'beasts' is little more than an idea[…]"derogatoryslang

6. (figuratively) Something unpleasant and difficult.Examples: "[…] Even unopposed, the natural obstacles are formidable, and defending his line of advance will be a beast of a problem.""; "He'd be in the hospital a few days — broken collarbone, a cast on his arm, a beast of a headache — but fine."figuratively