beacon

IPA: bˈikʌn

A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.
(nautical) A signal, buoy, post, or other conspicuous mark erected on an eminence near the shore, or moored in shoal water, as a guide to mariners, particularly to warn vessels of danger.
A high hill or other easily distinguishable object near the shore which can serve as guidance for seafarers.
(figurative) That which gives notice of danger, hope, etc., or keeps people on the correct path.
An electronic device that broadcasts a signal to nearby portable devices, enabling smartphones etc. to perform actions when in physical proximity to the beacon.
A town in Western Australia.
A city and town in Iowa, United States.
A city in New York, United States.
A hamlet in Devon, England.
A surname.
(Internet) Short for web beacon. [(Internet, marketing) A web bug.]

Examples of "beacon" in Sentences

This is what we call our beacon of democracy in the region?
The large colorful colonial church looms like a beacon from the far edge of the plaza.
However, before they can leave, a beacon is planted somewhere on the base, alerting the Vanguard to the location of the ship.
All we need to relight the beacon is to return to our true core values – they're all there right in the Declaration and Constitution.
Separately, when she went to some websites, they had a different kind of technology called a beacon, which is another invisible kind of tracker that runs some software while you're on a page and tries to assess what you're doing on that page.
We've got what we call beacon schools, where we take the school buildings that are there anyhow, and now we keep them open until 11: 00 p.m. or 12: 00 p.m. at night, six and seven days a week, with programs for young people and adults, funded by the city but run by not-for-profit community organizations.