Dictionary.com
definitions

I-beam

[ahy-beem]
|

noun

a rolled or extruded metal beam having a cross section resembling an I.Compare H-beam.

RELATED CONTENT

Beam me up, Scotty
Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE
I mean
Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

truss, joist, rafter

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for i-beam

Contemporary Examples of i-beam

  • I like how Macchi makes an I-beam do the one thing it is absolutely meant not to do: bend.

    The Daily Beast logo
    An Artist's Melting Glance

    Blake Gopnik

    May 15, 2013

Historical Examples of i-beam

  • 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

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