beam

[ beem ]

noun

1. 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.
2. Building Trades. a horizontal bearing member, as a joist or lintel.
3. Engineering. a rigid member or structure supported at each end, subject to bending stresses from a direction perpendicular to its length.
4. Nautical.
   1. a horizontal structural member, usually transverse, for supporting the decks and flats of a vessel.
   2. the extreme width of a vessel.
   3. the shank of an anchor.
5. Aeronautics. the direction perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of an aircraft and outward from the side.
6. the widest part.
7. Slang. the measure across both hips or buttocks:

   broad in the beam.

8. Machinery.
   1. walking beam.
   2. (in a loom) a roller or cylinder on which the warp is wound before weaving.
   3. a similar cylinder on which cloth is wound as it is woven.
9. the crossbar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales or pans are suspended.
10. a ray of light:

    The sun shed its beams upon the vineyard.

11. a group of nearly parallel rays.
12. Radio, Aeronautics. a signal transmitted along a narrow course, used to guide pilots through darkness, bad weather, etc.
13. Electronics. a narrow stream of electrons, as that emitted from the electron gun of a cathode ray tube.
14. the angle at which a microphone or loudspeaker functions best.
15. the cone-shaped range of effective use of a microphone or loudspeaker.
16. Citizens Band Radio Slang. beam antenna.
17. a gleam; suggestion:

    a beam of hope.

18. a radiant smile.
19. the principal stem of the antler of a deer.

verb (used with object)

1. to emit in or as in beams or rays.
2. Radio. to transmit (a signal) in a particular direction.
3. Radio and Television. to direct (a program, commercial message, etc.) to a predetermined audience.

verb (used without object)

1. to emit beams, as of light.
2. to smile radiantly or happily.

beam

/ biːm /

noun

1. a long thick straight-sided piece of wood, metal, concrete, etc, esp one used as a horizontal structural member
2. any rigid member or structure that is loaded transversely
3. the breadth of a ship or boat taken at its widest part, usually amidships
4. a ray or column of light, as from a beacon
5. a broad smile
6. one of the two cylindrical rollers on a loom, one of which holds the warp threads before weaving, the other the finished work
7. the main stem of a deer's antler from which the smaller branches grow
8. the central shaft of a plough to which all the main parts are attached
9. a narrow unidirectional flow of electromagnetic radiation or particles

   a beam of light

   an electron beam

10. the horizontal centrally pivoted bar in a balance
11. informal.
    the width of the hips (esp in the phrase broad in the beam )
12. a beam in one's eye
    a fault or grave error greater in oneself than in another person
13. off beam or off the beam
    1. not following a radio beam to maintain a course
    2. wrong, mistaken, or irrelevant
14. on the beam
    1. following a radio beam to maintain a course
    2. nautical opposite the beam of a vessel; abeam
    3. correct, relevant, or appropriate

verb

1. to send out or radiate (rays of light)
2. tr to divert or aim (a radio signal or broadcast, light, etc) in a certain direction

   to beam a programme to Tokyo

3. to pass (data, esp business card details, etc) from one hand-held computer to another by means of infrared beams
4. intr to smile broadly with pleasure or satisfaction

Derived Forms

• ˈbeamˌlike, adjective
• beamed, adjective
• ˈbeaming, adjectivenoun
• ˈbeamless, adjective
• ˈbeamy, adjective

Other Words From

• beamless adjective
• beamlike adjective
• outbeam verb (used with object)
• un·beamed adjective
• under·beam noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of beam¹

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”; barrow ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of beam¹

Old English beam ; related to Gothic bagms tree, Old High German boum tree

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. beam in, Citizens Band Radio Slang. to be received under optimum conditions; be heard loud and clear:

   They told me I was really beaming in.

2. fly the beam, Radio, Aeronautics. (of an aircraft) to be guided by a beam.
3. off the beam,
   1. not on the course indicated by a radio beam.
   2. Informal. wrong; incorrect:

      The pollsters were off the beam again for the last presidential election.

4. on the beam,
   1. on the course indicated by a radio beam, as an airplane.
   2. Nautical. at right angles to the keel.
   3. Informal. proceeding well; correct; exact:

      Their research is right on the beam and the results should be very valuable.

More idioms and phrases containing beam

see broad in the beam ; off the beam .

Synonym Study

See gleam. See shine ¹.

Example Sentences

John Lewis has become the latest retailer to beam its festive message into UK homes.

From BBC

A hole was cut to let the beam of light shine through and a mirror was placed at the base to split the beam into smoky rays of blue light.

From Los Angeles Times

Case in point: I recently watched a a young influencer-type stick her smartphone to the front window of the Gucci boutique— literally, using some sort of suction cup phone case — so she could step back and beam her whereabouts to TikTok.

From Los Angeles Times

Tanjapatkul first came under suspicion of the FBI in March 2023 when the Santa Ana resident promoted and sold on Facebook and Facebook Messenger the military-grade laser sight, a device used for hunting or military purposes that projects a beam onto a target, for $3,250.

From Los Angeles Times

“I do take work and I love doing things that are a bit off beam,” Williams says.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• girder
• joist
• piling
• pillar
• plank
• pole
• shaft
• sill
• timber