a guiding or warning signal, as a light or fire, especially one in an elevated position.
a tower or hill used for such purposes.
a lighthouse, signal buoy, etc., on a shore or at a dangerous area at sea to warn and guide vessels.
Navigation.
a radar device at a fixed location that, upon receiving a radar pulse, transmits a reply pulse that enables the original sender to determine their position relative to the fixed location.
a person, act, or thing that warns or guides.
a person or thing that illuminates or inspires.
The Bible has been our beacon during this trouble.
Digital Technology.
a low-energy radio transmitter at a specific location within a store, museum, office space, etc., which identifies nearby mobile devices in order to send them location-specific messages or collect location-specific data.
There must be a beacon in the luggage aisle because I just got a coupon for this suitcase on my phone.
to serve as a beacon to; warn or guide.
to furnish or mark with beacons.
a ship assigned to beacon the shoals.
a signal fire or light on a hill, tower, etc, esp one used formerly as a warning of invasion
a hill on which such fires were lit
a lighthouse, signalling buoy, etc, used to warn or guide ships in dangerous waters
short for radio beacon
a radio or other signal marking a flight course in air navigation
short for Belisha beacon
a person or thing that serves as a guide, inspiration, or warning
a stone set by a surveyor to mark a corner or line of a site boundary, etc
to guide or warn
(intr) to shine
First recorded before 950; Middle English beken, Old English bēacen “sign, signal”; cognate with Old Frisian bāken, Old Saxon bōkan, Old High German bouhhan
If your nose is shining like a beacon, I hope you are a reindeer employed by a jolly fat man from the North Pole. Beacon comes from an Old English word meaning “sign,” and that's what actual beacons are for lost ships: signs of having made it to land. Beacons are often some kind of light, like the bonfires that the ancient Greeks lit on hillsides to communicate that an army had come home from overseas. You'll also see beacon used figuratively, especially in the phrase “beacon of hope.”
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s been a beacon of democracy since its founding, and countries all over the world have held it in such high esteem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
But throughout these last 250 years, many have looked to America as a beacon of hope, opportunity and freedom from places that had too little of all of that.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
But bonds are also an excellent barometer of broader investor sentiment, particularly during times of equity market excess, and usually act as an early beacon for rougher seas ahead.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Dyer's great-grandmother said her grandson had been the family's "final beacon of hope" after a "relentless sequence of tragedies".
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
The Hab's nav beacon only reaches 40 kilometers, so it's useless to me out here.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Housing association Beacon Cymru said building properties was taking too long across Wales due to the current planning system.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
The founders of HoldCo Asset Management, a Florida-based firm, told Barron’s in April that they recently initiated investments in Beacon Financial, a Boston-based lender, and Bank of Hope.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Higher ground like Robinswood Hill - which is just south of Gloucester city centre - and Pan Tod Beacon, near Drybrook in the Forest of Dean, will also provide a stunning view.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Christopher Thornberg, an economist and founder of the consulting firm Beacon Economics, said it’s business as usual in Sacramento.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026
This summer, I have an internship at a bakery in Beacon Hill.
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
Some ships are sailing “dark,” as it is known in the industry, turning off lights and traveling without navigational beacons known as AIS, or Automatic Identification Systems, that help prevent collisions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
For many years, astronomers have relied on distant supernovae as cosmic beacons to study the universe and test the laws of physics.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 11, 2026
His friends quickly started searching using their beacons and managed to dig Thomason out, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2026
Using beacons, which transmit a radio signal to rescuers in the event of an avalanche burial, guides were able to locate "a probable area where skiers were buried between 40ft and nearly 100ft deep".
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2025
Very gradually, like one instrument after another being tentatively rehearsed, beacons of color began to pierce the sky.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
