Definitions for beam
bimbeam

Princeton's WordNet(2.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. radio beam, beam(noun)

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

2. beam(noun)

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

3. beam, ray, electron beam(noun)

   a group of nearly parallel lines of electromagnetic radiation

4. beam, beam of light, light beam, ray, ray of light, shaft, shaft of light, irradiation(noun)

   a column of light (as from a beacon)

5. beam(noun)

   (nautical) breadth amidships

6. beam(noun)

   the broad side of a ship

   "they sighted land on the port beam"

7. balance beam, beam(verb)

   a gymnastic apparatus used by women gymnasts

8. beam(verb)

   smile radiantly; express joy through one's facial expression

9. shine, beam(verb)

   emit light; be bright, as of the sun or a light

   "The sun shone bright that day"; "The fire beamed on their faces"

10. beam(verb)

    express with a beaming face or smile

    "he beamed his approval"

11. air, send, broadcast, beam, transmit(verb)

    broadcast over the airwaves, as in radio or television

    "We cannot air this X-rated song"

12. glow, beam, radiate, shine(verb)

    have a complexion with a strong bright color, such as red or pink

    "Her face glowed when she came out of the sauna"

13. glow, beam, radiate, shine(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"

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Beam(noun)

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

2. Beam(noun)

   one of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship

3. Beam(noun)

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

4. Beam(noun)

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

5. Beam(noun)

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

6. Beam(noun)

   the pole of a carriage

7. Beam(noun)

   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. Beam(noun)

   the straight part or shank of an anchor

9. Beam(noun)

   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. Beam(noun)

    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. Beam(noun)

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

12. Beam(noun)

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

13. Beam(noun)

    one of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also beam feather

14. Beam(verb)

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

15. Beam(verb)

    to emit beams of light

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Beam

   The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point as measured at the ship's nominal waterline. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship, the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position. Typical length-to-beam ratios for small sailboats are from 2:1 to 5:1. Large ships have widely varying beam ratios, some as large as 20:1. Rowing shells designed for flatwater racing may have length to beam ratios as high as 30:1, while a coracle has a ratio of almost 1:1 - it is nearly circular. The beam of many monohull yachts can be calculated using the following formula: LOA is Length Overall. All units are in feet. Some examples - For a standard 27' yacht: the cube root of 27 is 3, 3 squared is 9 plus 1 = 10. The beam of many 27' monohulls is 10'. - For a Volvo Open 70 yacht: 70.5 to the power of 2/3 = 17 plus 1 = 18. The beam is often around 18'. - For a 741' long ship: the cube root is 9, and 9 squared is 81, plus 1. The beam will usually be around 82' e.g. Seawaymax.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Beam

   bēm, 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. [A.S. béam, a tree, stock of a tree, a ray of light; Ger. baum, a tree; Gr. phyma, a growth—phy-ein, to grow.]

The Nuttall Encyclopedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Beam

   an ancient prov. of France, fell to the crown with the accession of Henry IV. in 1589; formed a great part of the dep. of Basses-Pyrénées, capital Pau.

The New Hacker's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. beam

   [from Star Trek Classic's “Beam me up, Scotty!”] 1. To transfer softcopy of a file electronically; most often in combining forms such as beam me a copy or beam that over to his site. 2. Palm Pilot users very commonly use this term for the act of exchanging bits via the infrared links on their machines (this term seems to have originated with the ill-fated Newton Message Pad). Compare blast, snarf, BLT.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. beam

   A long double stratum of murky clouds generally observed over the surface of the Mediterranean previous to a violent storm or an earthquake. The French call it trave.

2. beam

   (See ABEAM.)--Before the beam is an arc of the horizon, comprehended between a line that crosses the ship's length at right angles and some object at a distance before it; or between the line of the beam and that point of the compass which she stems. On the weather or lee beam is in a direction to windward or leeward at right angles with the keel.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. beam

   A stream of color and light.

   The beam of light illuminated the colors within the light.

   Submitted by MaryC on January 4, 2020  

2. beam

   To emit light.

   Her face and eyes beamed with joy at her partner's proposal.

   Submitted by MaryC on January 4, 2020  

3. beam

   To express joy through our face, eyes or expression.

   Her husband beamed at her daily and she responded with the same.

   Submitted by MaryC on January 4, 2020  

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. BEAM

   What does BEAM stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the BEAM acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'beam' in Nouns Frequency: #2082

How to pronounce beam?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say beam in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of beam in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of beam in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of beam in a Sentence

1. Susan Hough:

   I don't think that there is much doubt that there will eventually be damage to the pier and beam structures. There should be damage to the brick facades should it continue, and, of course, damage to the sheet rock and damage to the house, you are continuously waiting for the other shoe to drop. You're concerned that there is going to be another one.

2. Dag Hammarskjld:

   You are... the lens in the beam. You can only receive, give, and possess the light as the lens does.

3. Seneca:

   To see a man fearless in dangers, untainted with lusts, happy in adversity, composed in a tumult, and laughing at all those things which are generally either coveted or feared; all men must acknowledge that this can be from nothing else but a beam of divinity that influences a mortal body.

4. Josh Clark:

   I lowered my gun to the ground, when I stood up to turn around, I saw a main beam. I said, ‘Oh, my goodness.’.

5. Dag Hammarskjold:

   You are the lens in the beam. You can only receive, give, and possess the light as the lens does. If you seek yourself, you rob the lens of its transparency. You will know life and be acknowledged by it according to your degree of transparency, your capacity, that is, to vanish as an end, and remain purely as a means.

Images & Illustrations of beam

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