beam

American  

[beem] / bim /

noun

• beams
  plural

1. any of various relatively long pieces of metal, wood, stone, etc., manufactured or shaped especially for use as rigid members or parts of structures or machines.

2. Building Trades. a horizontal bearing member, as a joist or lintel.

3. Engineering. a rigid member or structure supported at each end, subject to bending stresses from a direction perpendicular to its length.

4. Nautical.

   1. a horizontal structural member, usually transverse, for supporting the decks and flats of a vessel.

   2. the extreme width of a vessel.

   3. the shank of an anchor.

5. Aeronautics. the direction perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of an aircraft and outward from the side.

6. the widest part.

7. Slang. the measure across both hips or buttocks.

   broad in the beam.

8. Machinery.

   1. walking beam.

   2. (in a loom) a roller or cylinder on which the warp is wound before weaving.

   3. a similar cylinder on which cloth is wound as it is woven.

9. the crossbar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales or pans are suspended.

10. a ray of light.

    The sun shed its beams upon the vineyard.

11. a group of nearly parallel rays.

12. Radio, Aeronautics. a signal transmitted along a narrow course, used to guide pilots through darkness, bad weather, etc.

13. Electronics. a narrow stream of electrons, as that emitted from the electron gun of a cathode ray tube.

14. the angle at which a microphone or loudspeaker functions best.

15. the cone-shaped range of effective use of a microphone or loudspeaker.

16. Citizens Band Radio Slang. beam antenna.

17. a gleam; suggestion.

    a beam of hope.

18. a radiant smile.

19. the principal stem of the antler of a deer.

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verb (used with object)

• beams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• beamed,
  past participle,  past
• beaming
  present participle

1. to emit in or as in beams or rays.

2. Radio. to transmit (a signal) in a particular direction.

3. Radio and Television. to direct (a program, commercial message, etc.) to a predetermined audience.

verb (used without object)

• beams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• beamed,
  past participle,  past
• beaming
  present participle

1. to emit beams, as of light.

2. to smile radiantly or happily.

idioms

1. fly the beam, (of an aircraft) to be guided by a beam.

2. off the beam,

   1. not on the course indicated by a radio beam.

   2. Informal. wrong; incorrect.

      The pollsters were off the beam again for the last presidential election.

3. beam in, to be received under optimum conditions; be heard loud and clear.

   They told me I was really beaming in.

4. on the beam,

   1. on the course indicated by a radio beam, as an airplane.

   2. Nautical. at right angles to the keel.

   3. Informal. proceeding well; correct; exact.

      Their research is right on the beam and the results should be very valuable.

beam British  

/ biːm /

noun

1. a long thick straight-sided piece of wood, metal, concrete, etc, esp one used as a horizontal structural member

2. any rigid member or structure that is loaded transversely

3. the breadth of a ship or boat taken at its widest part, usually amidships

4. a ray or column of light, as from a beacon

5. a broad smile

6. one of the two cylindrical rollers on a loom, one of which holds the warp threads before weaving, the other the finished work

7. the main stem of a deer's antler from which the smaller branches grow

8. the central shaft of a plough to which all the main parts are attached

9. a narrow unidirectional flow of electromagnetic radiation or particles

   a beam of light

   an electron beam

10. the horizontal centrally pivoted bar in a balance

11. informal the width of the hips (esp in the phrase broad in the beam )

12. a fault or grave error greater in oneself than in another person

13. 1. not following a radio beam to maintain a course

    2. informal wrong, mistaken, or irrelevant

14. 1. following a radio beam to maintain a course

    2. nautical opposite the beam of a vessel; abeam

    3. informal correct, relevant, or appropriate

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verb

1. to send out or radiate (rays of light)

2. (tr) to divert or aim (a radio signal or broadcast, light, etc) in a certain direction

   to beam a programme to Tokyo

3. to pass (data, esp business card details, etc) from one hand-held computer to another by means of infrared beams

4. (intr) to smile broadly with pleasure or satisfaction

beam More Idioms  

1. see broad in the beam; off the beam.

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Synonym Usage

See gleam. See shine ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underbeam
  noun
• outbeam
  verb (used with object)
• beamed
  adjective
• beaming
  adjective
• beamless
  adjective
• beamlike
  adjective
• beamy
  adjective
• unbeamed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beams
  plural

Participles

• beaming
  present
• beamed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• beam
  simple
• beams
  simple
• have beamed
  perfect
• has beamed
  perfect
• am beaming
  progressive
• are beaming
  progressive
• is beaming
  progressive
• have been beaming
  perfect progressive
• has been beaming
  perfect progressive

Past

• beamed
  simple
• had beamed
  perfect
• was beaming
  progressive
• were beaming
  progressive
• had been beaming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will beam
  simple
• will have beamed
  perfect
• will be beaming
  progressive
• will have been beaming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of beam

First recorded before 900; Middle English beem, Old English bēam “tree, post, ray of light”; cognate with Old Frisian bām, Old Saxon bōm, Dutch boom, Old High German boum ( German Baum ), Gothic bagms, Old Norse bathmr tree; the identity of the consonant which has assimilated itself to the following m is unclear, as is the original root; perhaps unattested Germanic bagmaz, from unattested bargmaz, from unattested Indo-European bhorǵh-mos “growth”; see barrow ²

Explanation

A beam is a long board that's used to hold up a roof or doorway. The beams in your kitchen ceiling help support the upstairs floor just above it. In construction, beams are made of wood or metal and are used to frame a building and provide structure. In gymnastics, a beam is used for balancing and doing tricks on. If someone comments that you're getting "broad in the beam," they're disparaging the width of your body, especially your hips. In Old English, a beam first meant a tree, and later a rafter or a ship's timber.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beam beams beamed beaming

In this established optical process, a pump beam enters a nonlinear crystal, where individual photons can split into pairs that may become quantum entangled.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

She was second after two of the four disciplines before she had a terrible beam routine, which included a faltering start and falling off halfway.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

At 17, Amankwaah is the youngest gymnast in Team England's squad and she is set to compete in the uneven bars, beam and floor beginning on Friday.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Every antenna also needed to release its beam at the same angle when receiving the same wavelength.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026

The beam illuminated a group scurrying sideways across the sandy terrain.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

He needs to wear special eyewear — usually goggles or glasses — to control the beams of energy that blast from his eyes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Large parts of the centre's exterior were blown off, exposing the steel beams underneath.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

By using twisted laser beams as probes, scientists may be able to identify molecular handedness more easily and accurately.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

The beams initially cracked in March but were repaired quickly, the spokesman said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Her dad often did work high above the ground, sometimes even trotting across exposed beams in half-built skyscrapers to fix problems left behind by automated cranes.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The man behind me beamed as he watched me take items out of my basket.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Mechanic remembered a party sometime pre-presidency for Witkoff’s wife, Lauren, where Trump was beamed in via video with a birthday greeting, but he couldn’t place when that was.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

He beamed as spoke at length about the renovations, and vowed that the forthcoming Independence Day festivities would be "the greatest show of all."

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

These range from small modular nuclear reactors, advanced geothermal and novel batteries to solar energy beamed in from space.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

When the reports were good, she beamed as if she herself had earned the good marks.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

The company is envisioning a world in which artificial-intelligence models are largely served from space, with lasers and other satellite-communication technologies beaming data around, resulting in near-instant responses to queries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Roberts announced the news via Instagram with a photo of the two beaming near a river and a caption that read, “putting this here before my mom tells everyone.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

The company also will continue developing a wireless power transfer system that uses fiber lasers and a space based heat rejection system to improve the durability of power beaming technology.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

Woodrow told the BBC that the "evening was perfect and incredible" with everyone involved "beaming and glowing", while "the whole place had such a positive atmosphere".

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

As we drive to school the next morning, Dad is beaming with pride.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• girder
• joist
• piling
• pillar
• plank
• pole
• shaft
• sill
• timber