Beam meaning
An example of a beam is a 24 inch by 24 inch square piece of wood used in the framing of a house.
Beam a message via satellite.
Broad in the beam.
He beamed his approval of the new idea.
A beam of light.
A beam of energy.
Beam me up, Scotty; there's no intelligent life down here.
An example of a beam is the illumination produced from a lighthouse.
An example of a beam is the electromagnetic waves generated to broadcast a radio station to the public.
An example of beam is to turn on a car’s headlights.
An example of beam is to operate an x-ray machine whose electromagnetic waves allow it to see through solid objects.
An example of beam is to send out radio signals from a satellite in order for people to enjoy a variety of music from their vehicle and/or TV.
An example of beam is to smile big when graduating from college.
- Following a radio beam. Used of aircraft.
- On the right track; operating correctly.
- A major moral flaw in oneself which one ignores while criticizing minor faults in others.
- Not following the direction of a guiding beam, as an airplane.
- In a direction at right angles to the keel of a ship; abeam.
- Following the direction of a guiding beam, as an airplane.
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of beam
- Middle English bem from Old English bēam bheuə- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- 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”).
From Wiktionary
- The verb is from Middle English bemen, from Old English bēamian (“to shine, to cast forth rays or beams of light”), from the noun.
From Wiktionary