abeam

American  

[uh-beem] / əˈbim /

adverb

1. Nautical, Aeronautics. at right angles to the fore-and-aft line.

   The vessel was sailing with the wind directly abeam.

2. directly abreast the middle of a ship's side.

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abeam British  

/ əˈbiːm /

adverb

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

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Etymology

Origin of abeam

First recorded in 1830–40; a- ¹ + beam

Example Sentences

She could have taken the blow of a colliding ship on bow, quarter or abeam and remained afloat, or even made her way to port.

From Scientific American • Apr. 11, 2012

When I come to a stop, we're abeam each other, about 3 feet apart.

From Salon • Jun. 11, 2010

Skillfully, she pulled 5,000 yds. abeam of the destroyer so that evasion would be far more difficult.

From Time Magazine Archive

A quarter of a mile away and just abeam to port, a fishing vessel emerged from the fog, its booms extended like massive bird wings with swinging trawl boards at the ends.

From Time Magazine Archive

England and the Kingdom, Britain and the Empire, the old prides and the old devotions, glide abeam, astern, sink down upon the horizon, pass - pass.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall