beacon

¹ American  

[bee-kuhn] / ˈbi kən /

noun

1. a guiding or warning signal, as a light or fire, especially one in an elevated position.

   Synonyms:

   balefire, pharos, buoy, beam

2. a tower or hill used for such purposes.

3. a lighthouse, signal buoy, etc., on a shore or at a dangerous area at sea to warn and guide vessels.

4. Navigation.

   1. radio beacon.

   2. 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.

5. a person, act, or thing that warns or guides.

6. a person or thing that illuminates or inspires.

   The Bible has been our beacon during this trouble.

7. Digital Technology.

   1. web beacon.

   2. 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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to serve as a beacon to; warn or guide.

2. to furnish or mark with beacons.

   a ship assigned to beacon the shoals.

verb (used without object)

1. to serve or shine as a beacon.

   A steady light beaconed from the shore.

Beacon ² American  

[bee-kuhn] / ˈbi kən /

noun

1. a city in SE New York.

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beacon British  

/ ˈbiːkən /

noun

1. a signal fire or light on a hill, tower, etc, esp one used formerly as a warning of invasion

2. a hill on which such fires were lit

3. a lighthouse, signalling buoy, etc, used to warn or guide ships in dangerous waters

4. short for radio beacon

5. a radio or other signal marking a flight course in air navigation

6. short for Belisha beacon

7. a person or thing that serves as a guide, inspiration, or warning

8. a stone set by a surveyor to mark a corner or line of a site boundary, etc

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verb

1. to guide or warn

2. (intr) to shine

Other Word Forms

• beaconless adjective
• unbeaconed adjective

Etymology

Origin of beacon

First recorded before 950; Middle English beken, Old English bēacen “sign, signal”; cognate with Old Frisian bāken, Old Saxon bōkan, Old High German bouhhan

Example Sentences

During the abolitionist movement and the war itself, the North Star became a practical element of enslaved African-Americans’ looking to the heavens, a beacon of freedom and hope.

From The Wall Street Journal

Let’s hope that Mr. Guan is granted asylum to live freely in his adopted country that was once, and must continue to be, a beacon for liberty.

From The Wall Street Journal

She’s a beacon, so to speak, especially for us Latina women.

From Los Angeles Times

He said local farmers would have been wondering what was going on at Blaenllain Farm, adding: "You were shining a beacon on the oddity of it all."

From BBC

This eloquent expression painted a vision of America as a beacon of democracy and freedom on which the whole world could rely, and it informed the entire post-World War II global order.

From Salon

Related Words

• flare
• lantern
• radar