beacon

¹

[ bee-kuhn ]

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.

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

[ bee-kuhn ]

noun

1. a city in SE New York.

beacon

/ 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. See radio beacon
   short for radio beacon
5. a radio or other signal marking a flight course in air navigation
6. See Belisha beacon
   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

verb

1. to guide or warn
2. intr to shine

Other Words From

• bea·con·less adjective
• un·bea·coned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of beacon¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of beacon¹

Old English beacen sign; related to Old Frisian bāken , Old Saxon bōcan , Old High German bouhhan

Example Sentences

For James, wearing the shirt was “more of a shout-out to the family more than anything,” he told the Akron Beacon Journal.

From The Daily Beast

John Paul II told the European Union at the time that it was “a beacon of civilization.”

From The Daily Beast

And my beloved Zimbabwe has sunk from a promising beacon into an abyss of greed and dictatorship.

From The Daily Beast

But simultaneously, as indicated by his support for Beacon, journalism is still incredibly valuable to him.

From The Daily Beast

I also think Christine Baranski is a beacon of light and I, too, would like to know what Josh Charles was thinking.

From The Daily Beast

Those who follow her beacon faithfully will gradually rise to the solutions of the greatest problems.

From Project Gutenberg

The brilliant beacon of the Eiffel Tower sat high up in the sky, like an exile star.

From Project Gutenberg

If they had not known every inch of the way as they did know it, a beacon-light on the shore would have guided them.

From Project Gutenberg

At length a distant colume of fire, widening and increasing as I approached, served me as a beacon.

From Project Gutenberg

As he went forward his shifting position frequently shut out the beacon-light, but he made no mistake at any point in his walk.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• flare
• lantern
• radar