abeam

[ uh-beem ]

/ əˈbim /

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adverb

Nautical, Aeronautics. at right angles to the fore-and-aft line: The vessel was sailing with the wind directly abeam.

directly abreast the middle of a ship's side.

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Origin of abeam

First recorded in 1830–40; a-¹ + beam

Words nearby abeam

Abdullah ibn-Husein, Abdullah II, Abdul-Mejid I, Abdul Rahman, Abe, abeam, abecedarian, abecedarium, abecedary, abed, Abednego

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use abeam in a sentence

The Sally had crept up until she was almost abeam of the Surprise, and was gaining, ever so slowly, but surely.
The Rival Campers|Ruel Perley Smith
They had the wind almost abeam from the westward, and went along at a good clip in a smooth sea.
The Rival Campers Afloat|Ruel Perley Smith
In a short time we also kept away with the wind almost abeam, a point on which the Foam sailed her best.
Peter the Whaler|W.H.G. Kingston
Ahead, abeam, on our quarter we looked, but nowhere could we discern the faintest trace of her.
A Middy of the King|Harry Collingwood

There was half a gale blowing on the 4th and though the wind was abeam, the sail was reefed and we moved quickly.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson

British Dictionary definitions for abeam

abeam

/ (əˈbiːm) /

adverb, adjective

(postpositive) at right angles to the length and directly opposite the centre of a vessel or aircraft

Word Origin for abeam

C19: a- ² + beam

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012