pencil beam
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of pencil beam
First recorded in 1945–50
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.
Under specific conditions, what normally looks like a scattered and disordered laser signal can reorganize itself into a narrow, highly focused "pencil beam."
From Science Daily ● Apr. 28, 2026
Tests showed that this pencil beam is both stable and highly detailed compared to similar beams.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 28, 2026
Using the new pencil beam approach, the team generated rapid, high-precision images while also tracking how cells absorb proteins in real time.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 28, 2026
They formed a slender pencil beam that hardly spread out at all.
From Time Magazine Archive
“And this light,” he said, adjusting the angle of the pencil beam, “and that’s it.”
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.
