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• beacon
  beacon

  noun

  a guiding or warning signal, as a light or fire, especially one in an elevated position.
• Beacon
  Beacon

  noun

  a city in SE New York.

beacon

¹ American  

[bee-kuhn] / ˈbi kən /

noun

• beacons
  plural

1. a guiding or warning signal, as a light or fire, especially one in an elevated position.

   Synonyms:

   balefire, pharos, buoy, beam

2. a tower or hill used for such purposes.

3. a lighthouse, signal buoy, etc., on a shore or at a dangerous area at sea to warn and guide vessels.

4. Navigation.

   1. radio beacon.

   2. a radar device at a fixed location that, upon receiving a radar pulse, transmits a reply pulse that enables the original sender to determine their position relative to the fixed location.

5. a person, act, or thing that warns or guides.

6. a person or thing that illuminates or inspires.

   The Bible has been our beacon during this trouble.

7. Digital Technology.

   1. web beacon.

   2. a low-energy radio transmitter at a specific location within a store, museum, office space, etc., which identifies nearby mobile devices in order to send them location-specific messages or collect location-specific data.

      There must be a beacon in the luggage aisle because I just got a coupon for this suitcase on my phone.

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verb (used with object)

1. to serve as a beacon to; warn or guide.

2. to furnish or mark with beacons.

   a ship assigned to beacon the shoals.

verb (used without object)

1. to serve or shine as a beacon.

   A steady light beaconed from the shore.

Beacon ² American  

[bee-kuhn] / ˈbi kən /

noun

1. a city in SE New York.

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beacon British  

/ ˈbiːkən /

noun

1. a signal fire or light on a hill, tower, etc, esp one used formerly as a warning of invasion

2. a hill on which such fires were lit

3. a lighthouse, signalling buoy, etc, used to warn or guide ships in dangerous waters

4. short for radio beacon

5. a radio or other signal marking a flight course in air navigation

6. short for Belisha beacon

7. a person or thing that serves as a guide, inspiration, or warning

8. a stone set by a surveyor to mark a corner or line of a site boundary, etc

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verb

1. to guide or warn

2. (intr) to shine

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• beaconless
  adjective
• unbeaconed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beacons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of beacon

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

Explanation

If your nose is shining like a beacon, I hope you are a reindeer employed by a jolly fat man from the North Pole. Beacon comes from an Old English word meaning “sign,” and that's what actual beacons are for lost ships: signs of having made it to land. Beacons are often some kind of light, like the bonfires that the ancient Greeks lit on hillsides to communicate that an army had come home from overseas. You'll also see beacon used figuratively, especially in the phrase “beacon of hope.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beacon Beacon beacons

Tom Copley, one of London's deputy mayors, said the bid will demonstrate why London "remains a beacon of inclusivity and diversity around the globe".

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

It acted like a molecular beacon, allowing scientists to detect and isolate BiP more easily during experiments.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

It’s got so much potential to be that beacon again, that leader in the world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Two and a half centuries later, America is still a beacon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

It stands out like a beacon, but also somehow blends in perfectly.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

The shop serves single-origin coffee from Ventura’s Beacon Coffee and breakfast sandwiches featuring house-made bagels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Father and son witnessed Europe's last total solar eclipse together in 1999 while stood atop St Agnes Beacon in Cornwall.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

The U.S. is unlikely to reduce these much unless it gains ground on thornier issues, especially with Canada on lumber or dairy, says Owen Tedford, an analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

Mr. Matus is the arts and culture editor at the Washington Free Beacon and the author of “Vodka: How a Colorless, Odorless, Flavorless Spirit Conquered America.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

The beacon-mast upon Beacon Hill had been removed, and replaced instead with a wooden turret; there was another fort stood opposite Carver Street, and a battery of guns atop Fox Hill.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Meantime, producers have been trying to move what they can through Hormuz by crossing near Oman with their location beacons turned off.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Minute-by-minute location tracking is based on GPS data, pings to nearby cellphone towers, Bluetooth beacons and Wi-Fi connections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

For many years, astronomers have relied on distant supernovae as cosmic beacons to study the universe and test the laws of physics.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 11, 2026

Every January, the global media company publishes the 50 women who have reached a position of status and influence that makes them beacons for others to follow.

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026

He first used his fires for smoke beacons, to attract the attention of some civilized being who might just possibly be among the trees on the far shores.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

Related Words

• flare
• lantern
• radar