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.
Tests showed that this pencil beam is both stable and highly detailed compared to similar beams.
From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026
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
"At this critical power, the nonlinearity can counter the intrinsic disorder, creating a balance that transforms the input beam into a self-organized pencil beam," Cao explains.
From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026
A few of those waves escape through the silver of one mirror, which is not quite thick enough to be totally opaque, and form the pencil beam of red maser light. 25-Mile Beam.
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.
