- present participle of beam.
beaming
Americanadjective
-
radiant; bright.
-
smiling brightly; cheerful.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of beaming
Explanation
If an object is beaming, it's glowing with light, but if a person is beaming, they're more likely to be smiling brightly. Your car's beaming headlights or the beaming eyes of your cat, glowing in the dark, are bright and radiant. That's where the other meaning of beaming, cheerful and bright, comes from. A beaming smile glows and shines with true joy. Beaming comes from the verb beam, "emit rays of light."
Vocabulary lists containing beaming
All Aglow: Light Lingo
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myPerspectives 8.1
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"La Vida Robot" and "Reading, Writing and... Recreation"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"He said hello to you," said her 43-year-old mother Michelle Gomis, beaming, after the popemobile drove past.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
“They were both beaming the entire night,” an unnamed guest told the outlet.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
“I will probably be beaming from ear to ear as we set off,” Cousins said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Roberts announced the news via Instagram with a photo of the two beaming near a river and a caption that read, “putting this here before my mom tells everyone.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
My desire to serve this movement is pumping through me, lighting me up inside like a string of lights beaming energy through my body.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
