beaming

American

[bee-ming] / ˈbi mɪŋ /

adjective

radiant; bright.
smiling brightly; cheerful.

Other Word Forms

beamingly adverb
unbeaming adjective

Etymology

Origin of beaming

First recorded in 1660–70; beam + -ing ²

Explanation

If an object is beaming, it's glowing with light, but if a person is beaming, they're more likely to be smiling brightly. Your car's beaming headlights or the beaming eyes of your cat, glowing in the dark, are bright and radiant. That's where the other meaning of beaming, cheerful and bright, comes from. A beaming smile glows and shines with true joy. Beaming comes from the verb beam, "emit rays of light."

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Vocabulary lists containing beaming

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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.

The Times spoke with the core parent-child trio in separate video calls — Pfeiffer and Fanning together from New York City, and Offerman beaming in from London — to talk about the series.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

Echostar is a data conglomerate External link that operates a fleet of satellites capable of beaming television and data from space, and operates its Boost Mobile wireless network down on Earth.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

Images taken of the couple show them both beaming from ear to ear, with Perry looking every inch the chart-topping icon in a figure-hugging red dress, while Trudeau donned an all-black suit.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 23, 2026

And when the music stopped, even before she knew that she was the Olympic champion, Alysa Liu was beaming.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

His beaming grin was that of a happy child who wanted to be liked, or at least to be engaging.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023