• Beam

    Pronunciation

    • IPA: /biːm/
    • Rhymes: -iːm

    Origin

    From Middle English beem, from Old English bēam ("tree, cross, gallows, column, pillar, wood, beam, splint, post, stock, rafter, piece of wood"), from Proto-Germanic *baumaz ("tree, beam, balk"), from Proto-Indo-European *bhū- ("to grow, swell"). Cognate with West Frisian beam ("tree"), Dutch boom ("tree"), German Baum ("tree"), Albanian bimë ("a plant") and Latin pōmō ("fruit tree").

    The verb is from Middle English bemen, from Old English bēamian ("to shine, to cast forth rays or beams of light"), from the noun.

    Full definition of beam

    Noun

    beam

    (plural beams)
    1. Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.
    2. One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building; one of the transverse members of a ship's frame on which the decks are laid - supported at the sides by knees in wooden ships and by stringers in steel ones.
    3. (nautical) The maximum width of a vesselThis ship has more beam than that one.
    4. The crossbar of a mechanical balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.
      • unknown date Alexander PopeThe doubtful beam long nods from side to side.
    5. The principal stem of the antler of a deer.
    6. (literary) The pole of a carriage.
    7. (textiles) A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving and the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven.
    8. The straight part or shank of an anchor.
    9. The central bar of a plow, to which the handles and colter are secured, and to the end of which are attached the oxen or horses that draw it.
    10. In steam engines, a heavy iron lever having an oscillating motion on a central axis, one end of which is connected with the piston rod from which it receives motion, and the other with the crank of the wheel shaft.
    11. A ray or collection of approximatelyly parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous bodya beam of lighta beam of energy
      • unknown date ShakespeareHow far that little candle throws his beams!
      • 2011, September 22, Nick Collins, Speed of light 'broken' by scientists, A total of 15,000 beams of neutrinos were fired over a period of 3 years from CERN towards Gran Sassoin Italy, 730km (500 miles) away, where they were picked up by giant detectors.
    12. (figuratively) A ray; a gleama beam of hope, or of comfort
      • unknown date KebleMercy with her genial beam.
    13. One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk.
    14. (music) A horizontal bar which connects the stems of two or more notes to group them and to indicate metric value.
    15. An elevated rectangular dirt pile used to cheaply build an elevated portion of a railway.

    Synonyms

    Hyponyms

    Derived terms

    Derived terms

    Verb

    1. (ambitransitive) To emit beams of light; shine; radiate.to beam forth light
    2. (intransitive, figuratively) To smile broadly or especially cheerfully.
    3. (transitive) To furnish or supply with beams; give the appearance of beams to.
    4. (transitive, science fiction) To transmit matter or information via a high-tech wireless mechanism.Beam me up, Scotty; there's no intelligent life down here.
    5. (transitive, currying) To stretch on a beam, as a hide.
    6. (transitive, weaving) To put on a beam, as a chain or web.
    7. (transitive, music) To connect (musical notes) with a beam, or thick line, in music notation.

    Anagrams

    © Wiktionary
    • © 2013 - 2023 All Rights Reserved