bach

bach — noun

1. in New Zealand, a simple wooden hut by the beach, lake, or in the bush, where a

1.noun
Definition

in New Zealand, a simple wooden hut by the beach, lake, or in the bush, where a family goes for short holidays or weekends away from home.

Example

The Patel family drove up to their bach at Lake Taupo every January.

noun: a + bach + at [place name]

Our bach has no hot water, but the view of the bay makes up for it.

typical scene: rustic seaside cottage

Common collocations
  • family bach
  • old bach
  • beach bach
  • the family bach
  • stay at the bach
  • weekend at the bach
Synonyms
  • crib

    the same idea, used in the South Island of New Zealand

  • cottage

    more general; any small holiday house, no NZ flavour

  • cabin

    wider use; often a wooden hut in mountains or woods anywhere

Grammar Patterns

a + bach + at/by/on [place]

Usage Note

Almost always used in New Zealand English. The South Island equivalent is 'crib'. Often paired with possessives: 'our bach', 'the family bach', 'Grandad's bach'.

Common Mistakes

I rented a bach in Paris last summer.
I rented a cottage in Paris last summer.
'bach' refers specifically to a New Zealand seaside or bush hut, not any holiday house abroad.
We bought two bachs near the coast.
We bought two baches near the coast.
the plural is 'baches', not 'bachs'.

bach — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name a small house used for short stays, but the colour and setting differ sharply. 'Bach' is firmly New Zealand English: a wooden hut by the sea, lake, or bush, often passed down inside a family. 'Crib' means the same thing but is used in the South Island; many New Zealanders feel strongly about which word is local. 'Cottage' is the most general English word — any small, often pretty house, in any country, used as a home or for holidays. 'Cabin' suggests something more rustic and remote, often in mountains or woods, and is common in North American English. Compare: 'We rent a cottage in the Cotswolds every spring' (English countryside) versus 'We drive up to the bach near Coromandel each summer' (New Zealand coast).

bach ↗crib ↗cottage ↗cabin ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • family bach
  • beach bach
  • bach holiday
  • bach key

Phrases

  • go up to the bach
  • stay at the bach
  • open up the bach for summer

Prepositions

  • at the bach
  • to the bach
  • in the bach

Etymology

Old FrenchEnglishNew Zealand English

Both senses come from a short, friendly form of 'bachelor'. The verb appeared first, in 19th-century North American English, meaning a man who keeps house on his own. The noun grew up later in New Zealand, where small huts were first put up by single men working away from town; over time the building, not the person, came to be called a 'bach'. The two meanings now sit side by side in different parts of the English-speaking world.