sunbeam
Americannoun
-
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.
noun
-
a beam, ray, or stream of sunlight
-
slang a piece of crockery or cutlery laid for a meal but remaining unused
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sunbeam
before 1000; Middle English sunnebem, Old English sun ( ne ) bēam. See sun, beam
Vocabulary lists containing sunbeam
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.
It was a sunbeam of grace in the confrontational hellscape we call modern society.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
As Voyager 1 raced past Neptune on its way out of the Solar System, it turned its cameras back towards Earth and photographed a tiny speck, gleaming in a sunbeam.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 18, 2023
If you’re in the car and your phone is sitting on the passenger seat in a sunbeam, you’ll notice how much faster your battery drains.
From Fox News ● Oct. 24, 2021
Candy glides through this novel like a sunbeam.
From New York Times ● Jul. 16, 2018
He’s the human version of a big St. Bernard sprawled out in a sunbeam.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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.
