any of various relatively long pieces of metal, wood, stone, etc., manufactured or shaped especially for use as rigid members or parts of structures or machines.
Building Trades. a horizontal bearing member, as a joist or lintel.
Engineering. a rigid member or structure supported at each end, subject to bending stresses from a direction perpendicular to its length.
Nautical.
a horizontal structural member, usually transverse, for supporting the decks and flats of a vessel.
the extreme width of a vessel.
the shank of an anchor.
Aeronautics. the direction perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of an aircraft and outward from the side.
the widest part.
Slang. the measure across both hips or buttocks: broad in the beam.
Machinery.
walking beam.
(in a loom) a roller or cylinder on which the warp is wound before weaving.
a similar cylinder on which cloth is wound as it is woven.
the crossbar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales or pans are suspended.
a ray of light: The sun shed its beams upon the vineyard.
a group of nearly parallel rays.
Radio, Aeronautics. a signal transmitted along a narrow course, used to guide pilots through darkness, bad weather, etc.
Electronics. a narrow stream of electrons, as that emitted from the electron gun of a cathode ray tube.
the angle at which a microphone or loudspeaker functions best.
the cone-shaped range of effective use of a microphone or loudspeaker.
Citizens Band RadioSlang. beam antenna.
a gleam; suggestion: a beam of hope.
a radiant smile.
the principal stem of the antler of a deer.
verb (used with object)
to emit in or as in beams or rays.
Radio. to transmit (a signal) in a particular direction.
Radioand Television. to direct (a program, commercial message, etc.) to a predetermined audience.
verb (used without object)
to emit beams, as of light.
to smile radiantly or happily.
Idioms for beam
beam in, Citizens Band RadioSlang. to be received under optimum conditions; be heard loud and clear: They told me I was really beaming in.
fly the beam, Radio, Aeronautics. (of an aircraft) to be guided by a beam.
off the beam,
not on the course indicated by a radio beam.
Informal.wrong; incorrect: The pollsters were off the beam again for the last presidential election.
on the beam,
on the course indicated by a radio beam, as an airplane.
Nautical.at right angles to the keel.
Informal.proceeding well; correct; exact: Their research is right on the beam and the results should be very valuable.
Origin of beam
First recorded before 900; Middle English beem, Old English bēam “tree, post, ray of light”; cognate with Old Frisian bām, Old Saxon bōm, Dutch boom, Old High German boum (German Baum), Gothic bagms, Old Norse bathmr tree; the identity of the consonant which has assimilated itself to the following m is unclear, as is the original root; perhaps unattested Germanic bagmaz, from unattested bargmaz, from unattested Indo-European bhorǵh-mos “growth”; see barrow2
synonym study for beam
10. See gleam. 20. See shine1.
OTHER WORDS FROM beam
beamless,adjectivebeamlike,adjectiveoutbeam,verb (used with object)un·beamed,adjective
un·der·beam,noun
Words nearby beam
Beale Street, be-all and end-all, all in, be, all things to all people, be, be along, beam, beam aerial, beam antenna, beam brick, beam compass, beam-ends
The researchers formed positronium by colliding a beam of positrons with a target, where they met up with electrons.
A measurement of positronium’s energy levels confounds scientists|Emily Conover|August 24, 2020|Science News
Droplets spewed from the person’s speech show up neon green in the laser beam, moving like tiny meteor showers.
4 reasons you shouldn’t trash your neck gaiter based on the new mask study|Jonathan Lambert|August 12, 2020|Science News
A laser beam hits the debris in orbit and bounces back to Earth, and ground crews can measure how long that takes to figure out where they are and where they are going, alerting you to possible collisions with other objects.
How to cast a wider net for tracking space junk|Neel Patel|August 5, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Meanwhile, the beams going the opposite way have their wavelength compressed by their shorter path.
A giant underground motion sensor in Germany tracks Earth’s wobbles|Maria Temming|July 17, 2020|Science News
But, like the cosmic rays, the beams of light have a marginal effect.
Cosmic Rays May Explain Life’s Bias for Right-Handed DNA|Charlie Wood|June 29, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Back then, no one ever imagined needing to beam live video to ground troops from a fighter jet.
Newest U.S. Stealth Fighter ‘10 Years Behind’ Older Jets|Dave Majumdar|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her door stands ajar, halving the room with a beam of light.
After the Genocide, Rwanda’s Widows Aging Alone|Nina Strochlic|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The pulses are from a beam of light produced by the intense magnetic field, which sweeps across Earth as the neutron star rotates.
The Weirdest Object in the Universe|Matthew R. Francis|May 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He set in place the beam on the 104th floor signed by President Obama and the First Lady.
Hero or Criminal? James Brady, the WTC Ironworker Who Jumped Off the Building|Michael Daly|March 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rather than plunging us into innocent love with an apparent stranger, they beam our conscious self-regard back at ourselves.
In Defense of the Selfie, Oxford English Dictionary’s Word of the Year|James Poulos|November 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Lockley noted that the human confederates of the monsters had no protection against the beam to match his own.
Operation Terror|William Fitzgerald Jenkins
The modern European ideal of a torpedo boat is a craft 152 feet long, with a beam of 15¼ feet.
Last Words|Stephen Crane
The hulk President was a plain solid barque of one thousand tons register, broad in the beam.
Nevermore|Rolf Boldrewood
In her shrewishness she took such little heed that she tripped over a beam on the bridge, and down she went plump into the stream.
Tales from the Fjeld|P. Chr. Asbjrnsen
If her head was to fall off a few points, and one of these waves took her on the beam, she would go down like a stone.
Held Fast For England|G. A. Henty
British Dictionary definitions for beam
beam
/ (biːm) /
noun
a long thick straight-sided piece of wood, metal, concrete, etc, esp one used as a horizontal structural member
any rigid member or structure that is loaded transversely
the breadth of a ship or boat taken at its widest part, usually amidships
a ray or column of light, as from a beacon
a broad smile
one of the two cylindrical rollers on a loom, one of which holds the warp threads before weaving, the other the finished work
the main stem of a deer's antler from which the smaller branches grow
the central shaft of a plough to which all the main parts are attached
a narrow unidirectional flow of electromagnetic radiation or particlesa beam of light; an electron beam
the horizontal centrally pivoted bar in a balance
informalthe width of the hips (esp in the phrase broad in the beam)
a beam in one's eyea fault or grave error greater in oneself than in another person
off beamoroff the beam
not following a radio beam to maintain a course
informalwrong, mistaken, or irrelevant
on the beam
following a radio beam to maintain a course
nauticalopposite the beam of a vessel; abeam
informalcorrect, relevant, or appropriate
verb
to send out or radiate (rays of light)
(tr)to divert or aim (a radio signal or broadcast, light, etc) in a certain directionto beam a programme to Tokyo
to pass (data, esp business card details, etc) from one hand-held computer to another by means of infrared beams
(intr)to smile broadly with pleasure or satisfaction
Words We Know Because Of Star TrekWhether or not you're a Trekkie, you are bound to know (and even use) some of these phrases made popular by the beloved sci-fi franchise, Star Trek.