beam

[beam]

A beam is a long board that's used to hold up a roof or doorway. The beams in your kitchen ceiling help support the upstairs floor just above it.

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Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.

Noun
a gymnastic apparatus used by women gymnasts

Noun
long thick piece of wood or metal or concrete, etc., used in construction

Noun
(nautical) breadth amidships

Noun
a signal transmitted along a narrow path; guides pilots in darkness or bad weather

Noun
a column of light (as from a beacon)

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Noun
a group of nearly parallel lines of electromagnetic radiation

Verb
smile radiantly; express joy through one''s facial expression

Verb
broadcast over the airwaves, as in radio or television; "We cannot air this X-rated song"

Verb
express with a beaming face or smile; "he beamed his approval"

Verb
experience a feeling of well-being or happiness, as from good health or an intense emotion; "She was beaming with joy"; "Her face radiated with happiness"

Verb
especially of the complexion: show a strong bright color, such as red or pink; "Her face glowed when she came out of the sauna"

Verb
emit light; be bright, as of the sun or a light; "The sun shone bright that day"; "The fire beamed on their faces"

n.
Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.

n.
One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship.

n.
The width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam than another.

n.
The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.

n.
The principal stem or horn of a stag or other deer, which bears the antlers, or branches.

n.
The pole of a carriage.

n.
A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven; one being called the fore beam, the other the back beam.

n.
The straight part or shank of an anchor.

n.
The main part 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.

n.
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; -- called also working beam or walking beam.

n.
A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat.

n.
Fig.: A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort.

n.
One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also beam feather.

v. t.
To send forth; to emit; -- followed ordinarily by forth; as, to beam forth light.

v. i.
To emit beams of light.

Beam

Beam , n. [AS. be'a0m beam, post, tree, ray of light; akin to OFries. b'bem tree, OS. bm, D. boom, OHG. boum, poum, G. baum, Icel. bamr, Goth. bahms and Gr. a growth, to become, to be. Cf. L. radius staff, rod, spoke of a wheel, beam or ray, and G. strahl arrow, spoke of a wheel, ray or beam, flash of lightning. 97. See Be; cf. Boom a spar.] 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 or ship.

The beams of a vessel are strong pieces of timber stretching across from side to side to support the decks.

3. The width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam than another. 4. The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.

The doubtful beam long nods from side to side.

5. The principal stem or horn of a stag or other deer, which bears the antlers, or branches. 6. The pole of a carriage. [Poetic] Dryden. 7. A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven; one being called the fore beam, the other the back beam. 8. The straight part or shank of an anchor. 9. The main part 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. (Steam Engine) 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; -- called also working beam or walking beam. 11. A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat.

How far that little candle throws his beams !

12. Fig.: A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort.

Mercy with her genial beam.

13. One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also beam feather. Abaft the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon between a line that crosses the ship at right angles, or in the direction of her beams, and that point of the compass toward which her stern is directed. -- Beam center (Mach.), the fulcrum or pin on which the working beam of an engine vibrates. -- Beam compass, an instrument consisting of a rod or beam, having sliding sockets that carry steel or pencil points; -- used for drawing or describing large circles. -- Beam engine, a steam engine having a working beam to transmit power, in distinction from one which has its piston rod attached directly to the crank of the wheel shaft. -- Before the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon included between a line that crosses the ship at right angles and that point of the compass toward which the ship steers. -- On the beam , in a line with the beams, or at right angled with the keel. -- On the weather beam, on the side of a ship which faces the wind. -- To be on her beam ends, to incline, as a vessel, so much on one side that her beams approach a vertical position.

Beam

Beam, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beamed (); p. pr. & vb. n. Beaming.] To send forth; to emit; -- followed ordinarily by forth; as, to beam forth light.

Beam

Beam, v. i. To emit beams of light.

He beamed, the daystar of the rising age.

Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.

To send forth; to emit; -- followed ordinarily by forth; as, to beam forth light.

To emit beams of light.

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Usage Examples

I don't like being recognised, I have no interest in being famous at all, I just do what I do. If I could be like Captain Kirk and beam myself up and then beam myself down, I would!

I had a constant fear, a constant little doubt in my mind: 'OK, I'm getting ready to do my standing back full on beam and I might re-tear my ACL.'

Happiness is being on the beam with life - to feel the pull of life.

Misspelled Form

beam, vbeam, gbeam, hbeam, nbeam, beam, veam, geam, heam, neam, eam, bveam, bgeam, bheam, bneam, b eam, bweam, b3eam, b4eam, bream, bseam, bdeam, bwam, b3am, b4am, bram, bsam, bdam, bewam, be3am, be4am, beram, besam, bedam, beqam, bewam, besam, bezam, beqm, bewm, besm, bezm, beaqm, beawm, beasm, beazm, beanm, beajm, beakm, bea,m, bea m, bean, beaj, beak, bea,, bea , beamn, beamj, beamk, beam,, beam .

Other Usage Examples

Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.

We can in fact first place the beam of rays of moving positive atomic ions in a plane perpendicular to the axis in which we see the spectral lines emitted by them.

I've always been a big fan of time travel, and I'm very into the notion that some day we'll be able to do it. Beam me up!