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I-beam

[ahy-beem]
noun
  1. a rolled or extruded metal beam having a cross section resembling an I.Compare H-beam.
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Origin of I-beam

First recorded in 1890–95
Also called I-bar [ahy-bahr] /ˈaɪˌbɑr/.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

trussjoistrafterI-beam

Examples from the Web for i-beam

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Wyman collapsed into the bay of the I-beam as if he'd been kicked in the stomach.

    The Syndic

    C.M. Kornbluth

  • This is essentially a steel I-beam (A) which grips the logs so that they will not slip.

    Motor Truck Logging Methods

    Frederick Malcolm Knapp

  • The primary bent consists of four I-beam post bents having channel chords, the whole braced together rigidly by angles.

    Concrete Construction

    Halbert P. Gillette

  • I-beam was carried by an outside wall pier and three I-beam columns encased in concrete.

    Concrete Construction

    Halbert P. Gillette

  • The other end of the crane in this case is supported by an I-beam on a row of iron columns.

British Dictionary definitions for i-beam

I-beam

noun
  1. a rolled steel joist or a girder with a cross section in the form of a capital letter ICompare H-beam
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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