sunbeam

[ suhn-beem ]

/ ˈsʌnˌbim /

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See synonyms for: sunbeam / sunbeamy on Thesaurus.com

noun

a beam or ray of sunlight.

Australian Slang. a dish or utensil that has not been used during a meal and so does not have to be washed.

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Origin of sunbeam

before 1000; Middle English sunnebem,Old English sun(ne)bēam.See sun, beam

OTHER WORDS FROM sunbeam

sunbeamed, sunbeamy, adjective

Words nearby sunbeam

sunback, sunbake, sunbaked, sunbath, sunbathe, sunbeam, sun bear, sunbed, Sunbelt, sunberry, sunbird

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use sunbeam in a sentence

By the time I was home again, the New Yorker clipping was browning around the edges from the sunbeams that came through our big kitchen windows, making it look like a neglected pancake.
Nothing Comes Between Me and My Patagonia Jacket|aheard|November 23, 2021|Outside Online
To quantify this aperiodic activity, scientists break down the raw EEG data, much as a prism can decompose a sunbeam into a rainbow of different colors.
Brain’s ‘Background Noise’ May Hold Clues to Persistent Mysteries|Elizabeth Landau|February 8, 2021|Quanta Magazine
When the sun warms your face, it’s shooting more than just sunbeams at your skin.
We still don’t really know what’s inside the sun—but that could change very soon|Charlie Wood|November 30, 2020|Popular-Science
When the first sunbeam gleamed through the window of Bat's tiny kitchen, I arose, pulled on my boots and went to feed my horse.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair

He likes to hear me talk though; I have made several bright remarks for the pleasure of the sunbeam in his eyes.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline|Jennie M. Drinkwater
The unintercepted sunbeam struck his eyes at five and speedily woke him.
Balsamo, The Magician|Alexander Dumas
Again was Ida thrown off her guard, and the smile that answered irradiated her face like a sudden sunbeam.
Alone|Marion Harland
I watched you dart like a sunbeam into the forest, so I followed with my slow speed to give you warning.'
Menotah|Ernest G. Henham

British Dictionary definitions for sunbeam

sunbeam

/ (ˈsʌnˌbiːm) /

noun

a beam, ray, or stream of sunlight

Australian slang a piece of crockery or cutlery laid for a meal but remaining unused

Derived forms of sunbeam

sunbeamed or sunbeamy, adjective

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

sunbeam

Origin of sunbeam

OTHER WORDS FROM sunbeam

Words nearby sunbeam

Words related to sunbeam

How to use sunbeam in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sunbeam

Derived forms of sunbeam