sunbeam
Americannoun
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a beam or ray of sunlight.
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Australian Slang. a dish or utensil that has not been used during a meal and so does not have to be washed.
noun
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a beam, ray, or stream of sunlight
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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.
Kristin Chenoweth is a dazzling performer—a sunbeam who shines so brightly when she steps on a Broadway stage you might be tempted to reach for sunglasses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2025
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
After a 15-month hiatus, the brothers Lawrence are back with Ultimatum, a shimmering sonic sunbeam driven by a vocal sample from Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 28, 2018
One sunbeam fell directly onto the octagonal center design of a blue Oriental rug and the other lit up the red head of a very old lady.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
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.
