Beam
[biːm] or [bim]
Definition
(noun.) long thick piece of wood or metal or concrete, etc., used in construction.
(noun.) the broad side of a ship; 'they sighted land on the port beam'.
(noun.) (nautical) breadth amidships.
(noun.) a column of light (as from a beacon).
(noun.) a group of nearly parallel lines of electromagnetic radiation.
(verb.) smile radiantly; express joy through one's facial expression.
(verb.) express with a beaming face or smile; 'he beamed his approval'.
Editor: Meredith--From WordNet
Definition
(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.
Editor: Vito
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Girder, piece of timber.[2]. Ray, pencil, streak, gleam, GLIMMER.
v. n. Shine, emit rays.
v. a. Shoot forth, emit in rays or beams.
Edited by Bridget
Definition
n. a large and straight piece of timber or iron forming one of the main supports against lateral pressure of a building ship &c.: (fig.) from the figure of the mote and the beam—Matt. vii. 3: any of the transverse pieces of framing extending across a ship's hull the greatest width of a ship or boat: the part of a balance from which the scales hang: the pole of a carriage: a cylinder of wood in a loom: a ray of light.—v.t. to send forth light: to shine.—n. Beam′-en′gine a steam-engine which has a beam connecting the piston-rod with the crank of the wheel-shaft as distinguished from one that has its piston-rod directly attached to the crank.—adv. Beam′ily.—n. Beam′iness.—adjs. Beam′less without beams: emitting no rays of light; Beam′y shining.—A beam sea one rolling against the ship's side.—Before the beam the bearing of any object when seen more in advance than on the beam; Abaft the beam the reverse.—Lee or Weather beam the side away from or towards the wind.—On her beam ends a phrase applied to the position of a ship when so much inclined to one side that the beams become nearly vertical.—On the starboard beam applied to any distant point out at sea at right angles to the keel and on the starboard or right-hand (as viewed from the stern) side of the ship; On the port beam similarly applies to the left hand.
Editor: Timmy
Examples
- The ground was torn up and in front of my head there was a splintered beam of wood. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- The beam was straight, long, and heavy, and that and the mould generally hewed from a tree. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- It was good to see him beam at 'my children', as he called the young pair. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- This causes a sound of very great power, which the trumpet collects and compresses, and the blast goes out as a sort of sound beam in the direction required. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- But there were dark lines in that beam of broken sunlight which Newton did not notice. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- They were of different forms, but that most commonly in use consisted of an upright post and a transverse movable beam on which the seat was fitted or from which it was suspended by a chain. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- You had come across it like a beam of sunshine at first--and then you too failed me. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Besides, I choose to please myself by sharing an idea that at this moment beams in your mother's eye while she looks at you. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Beams crossed the opening down into the main floor where the hay-carts drove in when the hay was hauled in to be pitched up. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- Talking, laughing, or snoring, they make the beams of the house shake. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- From the towering lighthouses of our coasts its beams are thrown seaward, and a beacon for the mariner shines beyond all other lights. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- In the building of the Cooper Institute in New York City in 1857 he was the first to employ such beams with brick arches to support the floors. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- What I did mean to say, was, that I never expected to retain my favoured place in this family, after Fortune shed her beams upon it. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I AWOKE in the morning, just as the higher windows of the lofty houses received the first beams of the rising sun. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- He beamed on her from the drawing-room door--magnificent, with ambrosial whiskers, like a god. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- The maniac became composed; his person rose higher; authority beamed from his countenance. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- She was not surprised by the result, but she was happy in it, and her face beamed brightly. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Mr. Pickwick expressed his heartfelt delight at every additional suggestion; and his eyes beamed with hilarity and cheerfulness. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- I had wakened the glow: his features beamed. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- The house was an old-fashioned, wide-spread, oak-beamed brick building, with a fine lime-lined avenue leading up to it. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- His lady-love beamed upon him from a sphere above his own: he could not come near her; he was not certain that he could win from her a look. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- What a beaming face you have, Jane! Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- If a laughing eye with a lively light, and a face bright with beaming and healthy energy, could attest that he was better, better he certainly was. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- She changed as the door opened, and broke into a beaming smile. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- The beaming sight, and the penetrating warmth, seemed to breed in him a cumulative cheerfulness, which soon amounted to delight. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- I looked towards the knoll: there he lay, still as a prostrate column; his face turned to me: his eye beaming watchful and keen. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Both smooth heads were alike beaming, blundering, and bumpy. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Through the beaming smile with which he regarded me as he reasoned thus, there now broke forth a look of disinterested benevolence quite astonishing. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
Editor: Ozzie