beacon

[bee-kuhn]

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noun

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.

radio beacon.
a radar device at a fixed location that, upon receiving a radar pulse, transmits a reply pulse that enables the original sender to determine his or her 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. web beacon.

verb (used with object)

to serve as a beacon to; warn or guide.

to furnish or mark with beacons: a ship assigned to beacon the shoals.

verb (used without object)

to serve or shine as a beacon: A steady light beaconed from the shore.

Origin of beacon

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

Related formsbea·con·less, adjectiveun·bea·coned, adjective

Synonyms for beacon

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR beacon ON THESAURUS.COM

1. beam, buoy, pharos; signal fire; balefire.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for beaconing

shepherd, govern, drive, escort, herd, educate, manage, handle, maneuver, oversee, navigate, influence, instruct, see, train, usher, supervise, accompany, teach, regulate

Examples from the Web for beaconing

Historical Examples of beaconing

The light of a great love shone out of the wonderful deeps of them, beaconing the way clear into the haven of her heart.
Lochinvar
S. R. Crockett
My heart cleaved the eternity of separation, beaconing my sad return to them, and I followed gladly, hope being not yet dead.
Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, Issue 2, February, 1864
Various
They hold and send forth the beaconing flash from every intellectual and loving light-house in the world.
The Cassowary
Stanley Waterloo

British Dictionary definitions for beaconing

beacon

noun

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

verb

to guide or warn

(intr) to shine

Word Origin for beacon

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

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

Word Origin and History for beaconing

beacon

Old English beacen "sign, portent, lighthouse," from West Germanic *baukna "beacon, signal" (cf. Old Frisian baken, Old Saxon bokan, Old High German bouhhan); not found outside Germanic. Perhaps borrowed from Latin bucina "a crooked horn or trumpet, signal horn." But more likely from PIE *bhew-, a variant of the base *bha- "to gleam, shine" (see phantasm). Figurative use from c.1600.