beam

American  

[beem] / bim /

noun

• beams
  plural

1. any of various relatively long pieces of metal, wood, stone, etc., manufactured or shaped especially for use as rigid members or parts of structures or machines.

2. Building Trades. a horizontal bearing member, as a joist or lintel.

3. Engineering. a rigid member or structure supported at each end, subject to bending stresses from a direction perpendicular to its length.

4. Nautical.

   1. a horizontal structural member, usually transverse, for supporting the decks and flats of a vessel.

   2. the extreme width of a vessel.

   3. the shank of an anchor.

5. Aeronautics. the direction perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of an aircraft and outward from the side.

6. the widest part.

7. Slang. the measure across both hips or buttocks.

   broad in the beam.

8. Machinery.

   1. walking beam.

   2. (in a loom) a roller or cylinder on which the warp is wound before weaving.

   3. a similar cylinder on which cloth is wound as it is woven.

9. the crossbar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales or pans are suspended.

10. a ray of light.

    The sun shed its beams upon the vineyard.

11. a group of nearly parallel rays.

12. Radio, Aeronautics. a signal transmitted along a narrow course, used to guide pilots through darkness, bad weather, etc.

13. Electronics. a narrow stream of electrons, as that emitted from the electron gun of a cathode ray tube.

14. the angle at which a microphone or loudspeaker functions best.

15. the cone-shaped range of effective use of a microphone or loudspeaker.

16. Citizens Band Radio Slang. beam antenna.

17. a gleam; suggestion.

    a beam of hope.

18. a radiant smile.

19. the principal stem of the antler of a deer.

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verb (used with object)

• beams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• beamed,
  past participle,  past
• beaming
  present participle

1. to emit in or as in beams or rays.

2. Radio. to transmit (a signal) in a particular direction.

3. Radio and Television. to direct (a program, commercial message, etc.) to a predetermined audience.

verb (used without object)

• beams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• beamed,
  past participle,  past
• beaming
  present participle

1. to emit beams, as of light.

2. to smile radiantly or happily.

idioms

1. fly the beam, (of an aircraft) to be guided by a beam.

2. off the beam,

   1. not on the course indicated by a radio beam.

   2. Informal. wrong; incorrect.

      The pollsters were off the beam again for the last presidential election.

3. beam in, to be received under optimum conditions; be heard loud and clear.

   They told me I was really beaming in.

4. on the beam,

   1. on the course indicated by a radio beam, as an airplane.

   2. Nautical. at right angles to the keel.

   3. Informal. proceeding well; correct; exact.

      Their research is right on the beam and the results should be very valuable.

beam British  

/ biːm /

noun

1. a long thick straight-sided piece of wood, metal, concrete, etc, esp one used as a horizontal structural member

2. any rigid member or structure that is loaded transversely

3. the breadth of a ship or boat taken at its widest part, usually amidships

4. a ray or column of light, as from a beacon

5. a broad smile

6. one of the two cylindrical rollers on a loom, one of which holds the warp threads before weaving, the other the finished work

7. the main stem of a deer's antler from which the smaller branches grow

8. the central shaft of a plough to which all the main parts are attached

9. a narrow unidirectional flow of electromagnetic radiation or particles

   a beam of light

   an electron beam

10. the horizontal centrally pivoted bar in a balance

11. informal the width of the hips (esp in the phrase broad in the beam )

12. a fault or grave error greater in oneself than in another person

13. 1. not following a radio beam to maintain a course

    2. informal wrong, mistaken, or irrelevant

14. 1. following a radio beam to maintain a course

    2. nautical opposite the beam of a vessel; abeam

    3. informal correct, relevant, or appropriate

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verb

1. to send out or radiate (rays of light)

2. (tr) to divert or aim (a radio signal or broadcast, light, etc) in a certain direction

   to beam a programme to Tokyo

3. to pass (data, esp business card details, etc) from one hand-held computer to another by means of infrared beams

4. (intr) to smile broadly with pleasure or satisfaction

beam More Idioms  

1. see broad in the beam; off the beam.

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Synonym Usage

See gleam. See shine ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underbeam
  noun
• outbeam
  verb (used with object)
• beamed
  adjective
• beaming
  adjective
• beamless
  adjective
• beamlike
  adjective
• beamy
  adjective
• unbeamed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beams
  plural

Participles

• beaming
  present
• beamed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• beam
  simple
• beams
  simple
• have beamed
  perfect
• has beamed
  perfect
• am beaming
  progressive
• are beaming
  progressive
• is beaming
  progressive
• have been beaming
  perfect progressive
• has been beaming
  perfect progressive

Past

• beamed
  simple
• had beamed
  perfect
• was beaming
  progressive
• were beaming
  progressive
• had been beaming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will beam
  simple
• will have beamed
  perfect
• will be beaming
  progressive
• will have been beaming
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of beam

First recorded before 900; Middle English beem, Old English bēam “tree, post, ray of light”; cognate with Old Frisian bām, Old Saxon bōm, Dutch boom, Old High German boum ( German Baum ), Gothic bagms, Old Norse bathmr tree; the identity of the consonant which has assimilated itself to the following m is unclear, as is the original root; perhaps unattested Germanic bagmaz, from unattested bargmaz, from unattested Indo-European bhorǵh-mos “growth”; see barrow ²

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Explanation

A beam is a long board that's used to hold up a roof or doorway. The beams in your kitchen ceiling help support the upstairs floor just above it. In construction, beams are made of wood or metal and are used to frame a building and provide structure. In gymnastics, a beam is used for balancing and doing tricks on. If someone comments that you're getting "broad in the beam," they're disparaging the width of your body, especially your hips. In Old English, a beam first meant a tree, and later a rafter or a ship's timber.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beam beams beamed beaming

The emitted light can stimulate other excited copper atoms to release additional X-rays traveling in the same direction, producing an amplified beam.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026

Instead of the formal post-midterms remarks that previous presidents have made, the 80-year-old announced that he was there to sign the final steel beam going into the roof of his $400 million pride and joy.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

As promised, giddy DSA candidates beam in, toasting the momentous night.

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026

Low Earth-orbit satellite networks are closer to Earth than traditional constellations, making them ideal to beam low-latency broadband directly to smartphones in parts of the world where cell towers are unavailable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

A few months prior, Kermit had been standing on a steel beam that was being hoisted over the river gorge when the crane slipped.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

Mass timber is made by pressing and gluing together layers of dimensional lumber, often two-by-six boards, into large panels and beams.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026

The property’s design is a stark contrast from the eclectic, maximalist aesthetic the cartwheeling designer has become known for, boasting a sleek open concept with a neutral color palette and exposed wood ceiling beams.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

They will install beams in the roof and 30 steel and timber props in the floor to help it withstand rain and snow.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

Devices designed to alter the phase of electron beams often weakened the beam too much, introduced image instability, or reduced resolution.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

“Here we are, luv!” beams a stout woman wearing a stained apron.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Few people navigate the internet’s light-to-dark spectrum as well as writer-director Jane Schoenbrun, whose films play like dispatches beamed out from the depths of online black holes.

From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026

And when I flipped him over my back for the first time and he landed like a sack of meat, David beamed and yelled in his best “Karate Kid” voice, “Finish meeee!!”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

On Sunday, the North Korean leader beamed with pride after he commissioned the warship into North Korea’s navy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

Nick Basher, 19, beamed as he discovered he'd earned a merit in his T-level in digital production design and development.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The man beamed and slapped the tickets down on the counter.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

A beaming Raman had entered the council chambers flanked by her council staff and campaign aides, along with a new security detail befitting her higher profile.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026

"I've been waiting for decades for this kind of a night," said Chuck Schmidt, the former Democratic state rep, beaming widely under his University of Kansas baseball cap.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

On a double date with her husband and their best friends, Mona, beaming, tells the group that she’s auditioned for “a musical show.”

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026

Bright-colored backpacks, fresh school supplies and late-summer sun beaming through classroom windows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

“Glad to hear it, Emma,” she says, beaming.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

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Related Words

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• joist
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• sill
• timber

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