beam

[ beem ]

/ bim /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: beam / beamed / beaming on Thesaurus.com

Definition of beam

noun

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.

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

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

Nautical.

a horizontal structural member, usually transverse, for supporting the decks and flats of a vessel.
the extreme width of a vessel.
the shank of an anchor.

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

the widest part.

Slang. the measure across both hips or buttocks: broad in the beam.

Machinery.

walking beam.
(in a loom) a roller or cylinder on which the warp is wound before weaving.
a similar cylinder on which cloth is wound as it is woven.

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

a ray of light: The sun shed its beams upon the vineyard.

a group of nearly parallel rays.

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

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

the angle at which a microphone or loudspeaker functions best.

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

Citizens Band Radio Slang. beam antenna.

a gleam; suggestion: a beam of hope.

a radiant smile.

the principal stem of the antler of a deer.

verb (used with object)

to emit in or as in beams or rays.

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

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

verb (used without object)

to emit beams, as of light.

to smile radiantly or happily.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about beam

beam in, Citizens Band Radio Slang. to be received under optimum conditions; be heard loud and clear: They told me I was really beaming in.

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

off the beam,

not on the course indicated by a radio beam.
Informal. wrong; incorrect: The pollsters were off the beam again for the last presidential election.

on the beam,

on the course indicated by a radio beam, as an airplane.
Nautical. at right angles to the keel.
Informal. proceeding well; correct; exact: Their research is right on the beam and the results should be very valuable.

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 barrow²

synonym study for beam

10. See gleam. 20. See shine¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM beam

beamless, adjectivebeamlike, adjectiveoutbeam, verb (used with object)un·beamed, adjective

un·der·beam, noun

Words nearby beam

Beale Street, be-all and end-all, all in, be, all things to all people, be, be along, beam, beam aerial, beam antenna, beam brick, beam compass, beam-ends

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use beam in a sentence

The researchers formed positronium by colliding a beam of positrons with a target, where they met up with electrons.
A measurement of positronium’s energy levels confounds scientists|Emily Conover|August 24, 2020|Science News
Droplets spewed from the person’s speech show up neon green in the laser beam, moving like tiny meteor showers.
4 reasons you shouldn’t trash your neck gaiter based on the new mask study|Jonathan Lambert|August 12, 2020|Science News
A laser beam hits the debris in orbit and bounces back to Earth, and ground crews can measure how long that takes to figure out where they are and where they are going, alerting you to possible collisions with other objects.
How to cast a wider net for tracking space junk|Neel Patel|August 5, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Meanwhile, the beams going the opposite way have their wavelength compressed by their shorter path.
A giant underground motion sensor in Germany tracks Earth’s wobbles|Maria Temming|July 17, 2020|Science News

But, like the cosmic rays, the beams of light have a marginal effect.
Cosmic Rays May Explain Life’s Bias for Right-Handed DNA|Charlie Wood|June 29, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Back then, no one ever imagined needing to beam live video to ground troops from a fighter jet.
Newest U.S. Stealth Fighter ‘10 Years Behind’ Older Jets|Dave Majumdar|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Conservative columnist George Will calls him a “cherubic 40-year-old…a human beam of sunshine.”
With Ernst and Gardner, Republicans Think They’ve Found the Formula|Eleanor Clift|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her door stands ajar, halving the room with a beam of light.
After the Genocide, Rwanda’s Widows Aging Alone|Nina Strochlic|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Outside the lodge, running along its perimeter, was a small ditch lined by posts topped by a chest-high wooden beam.
Spirit Tripping With Colombian Shamans|Chris Allbritton|August 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The pulses are from a beam of light produced by the intense magnetic field, which sweeps across Earth as the neutron star rotates.
The Weirdest Object in the Universe|Matthew R. Francis|May 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The latter went immediately to look for his wife, and found her hidden in an attic, hanging to a beam.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
Cast the beam from thine eye before noticing the mote in that of thy neighbour.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
It was placed immediately over the shaft and pump-rods, requiring no engine-beam.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
A connecting rod worked a balance-beam, which worked the air-pump, feed-pump, and plug-rod for moving the valves.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
A large balance-beam was attached to the pump-rods, near the bottom cross-head.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick

British Dictionary definitions for beam

beam

/ (biːm) /

noun

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

any rigid member or structure that is loaded transversely

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

a ray or column of light, as from a beacon

a broad smile

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

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

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

a narrow unidirectional flow of electromagnetic radiation or particlesa beam of light; an electron beam

the horizontal centrally pivoted bar in a balance

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

a beam in one's eye a fault or grave error greater in oneself than in another person

off beam or off the beam

not following a radio beam to maintain a course
informal wrong, mistaken, or irrelevant

on the beam

following a radio beam to maintain a course
nautical opposite the beam of a vessel; abeam
informal correct, relevant, or appropriate

verb

to send out or radiate (rays of light)

(tr) to divert or aim (a radio signal or broadcast, light, etc) in a certain directionto beam a programme to Tokyo

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

(intr) to smile broadly with pleasure or satisfaction

Derived forms of beam

beamed, adjectivebeaming, adjective, nounbeamless, adjectivebeamlike, adjective

beamy, adjective

Word Origin for beam

Old English beam; related to Gothic bagms tree, Old High German boum tree

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with beam

beam

see broad in the beam; off the beam.

beam

Definition of beam

Idioms about beam

Origin of beam

synonym study for beam

OTHER WORDS FROM beam

Words nearby beam

Words related to beam

How to use beam in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for beam

Derived forms of beam

Word Origin for beam

Other Idioms and Phrases with beam