beam
IPA: bˈim
noun
- (structural) Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.
- (structural) One of the principal horizontal structural members, usually of steel, timber, or concrete, of a building.
- (nautical) One of the transverse members of a ship's frame on which the decks are laid, and acting as part of the support for keeping the sides of the vessel in shape — supported at the sides by knees in wooden ships and by stringers in steel ones; cf. abeam, beam-ends.
- (nautical) The maximum width of a vessel (note that a vessel with a beam of 15 foot can also be said to be 15 foot abeam).
- (nautical) The direction across a vessel, perpendicular to fore-and-aft.
- (nautical) The straight part or shank of an anchor.
- (mechanical) The crossbar of a mechanical balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.
- (mechanical) 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.
- (agricultural) 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.
- (physics) A ray or collection of approximately parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body.
- (anatomical, informal) The principal stem of the antler of a deer.
- (anatomical, informal) One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk.
- (literary) The pole of a carriage or chariot.
- (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.
- (figuratively) A ray; a gleam.
- (music) A horizontal bar which connects the stems of two or more notes to group them and to indicate metric value.
- (railway) An elevated rectangular dirt pile used to cheaply build an elevated portion of a railway.
- A broad smile.
- A surname.
- (gymnastics) Ellipsis of balance beam. [(gymnastics) A gymnastics apparatus, a narrow wooden rail used in artistic (athletic) gymnastics.]
- (programming, Erlang) Acronym of Bogdan's Erlang Abstract Machine.
verb
- (transitive, intransitive) To emit beams of light; to shine; to radiate.
- (intransitive, figuratively) To smile broadly or especially cheerfully.
- (transitive) To furnish or supply with beams.
- (transitive) To give the appearance of beams to.
- (transitive, science fiction) To transmit matter or information via a high-tech wireless mechanism.
- (transitive, computing) To transmit, especially by direct wireless means such as infrared.
- (transitive, currying) To stretch something (for example, an animal hide) on a beam.
- (transitive, weaving) To put (something) on a beam.
- (transitive, music) To connect (musical notes) with a beam, or thick line, in music notation.
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Examples of "beam" in Sentences
- The Moon's Pale Light is Beaming.
- The beam was shot across the sky.
- The beaming sunlight came in this afternoon.
- An anchor chain flexibly suspends the beams.
- A diametrical beam of radiation can be used for comparison purposes.
- The source emits a beam of radiation through the rod to the detector.
- The radiation pattern of the beam is independent of the sampling rate.
- Nor has our couch faded from the toxic UV rays beaming out of the lamps.
- The player will begin the race by flashing the high beams behind the opponent.
- The ray is actually a beam of electrons traveling in the vacuum inside the tube.
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