beam

[ beem ]

/ bim /

noun

any of various relatively long pieces of metal, wood, stone, etc., manufactured or shaped especially for use as rigid members or parts of structures or machines.

Building Trades. a horizontal bearing member, as a joist or lintel.

Engineering. a rigid member or structure supported at each end, subject to bending stresses from a direction perpendicular to its length.

Nautical.

a horizontal structural member, usually transverse, for supporting the decks and flats of a vessel.
the extreme width of a vessel.
the shank of an anchor.

Aeronautics. the direction perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of an aircraft and outward from the side.

the widest part.

Slang. the measure across both hips or buttocks: broad in the beam.

Machinery.

walking beam.
(in a loom) a roller or cylinder on which the warp is wound before weaving.
a similar cylinder on which cloth is wound as it is woven.

the crossbar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales or pans are suspended.

a ray of light: The sun shed its beams upon the vineyard.

a group of nearly parallel rays.

Radio, Aeronautics. a signal transmitted along a narrow course, used to guide pilots through darkness, bad weather, etc.

Electronics. a narrow stream of electrons, as that emitted from the electron gun of a cathode ray tube.

the angle at which a microphone or loudspeaker functions best.

the cone-shaped range of effective use of a microphone or loudspeaker.

Citizens Band Radio Slang. beam antenna.

a gleam; suggestion: a beam of hope.

a radiant smile.

the principal stem of the antler of a deer.

verb (used with object)

to emit in or as in beams or rays.

Radio. to transmit (a signal) in a particular direction.

Radio and Television. to direct (a program, commercial message, etc.) to a predetermined audience.

verb (used without object)

to emit beams, as of light.

to smile radiantly or happily.

Idioms for beam

beam in, Citizens Band Radio Slang. to be received under optimum conditions; be heard loud and clear: They told me I was really beaming in.

fly the beam, Radio, Aeronautics. (of an aircraft) to be guided by a beam.

off the beam,

not on the course indicated by a radio beam.
Informal. wrong; incorrect: The pollsters were off the beam again for the last presidential election.

on the beam,

on the course indicated by a radio beam, as an airplane.
Nautical. at right angles to the keel.
Informal. proceeding well; correct; exact: Their research is right on the beam and the results should be very valuable.

Origin of beam

before 900; Middle English beem, Old English bēam tree, post, ray of light; cognate with Old Frisian bām, Old Saxon bōm, Dutch boom, Old High German boum (German Baum), Gothic bagms, Old Norse bathmr tree; the identity of the consonant which has assimilated itself to the following m is unclear, as is the original root; perhaps Germanic *bagmaz < *bargmaz < Indo-European *bhorǵh-mos growth; see barrow²

SYNONYMS FOR beam

10 See gleam.

20 See shine¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM beam

beam·less, adjective beam·like, adjective out·beam, verb (used with object) un·beamed, adjective

un·der·beam, noun

Words nearby beam

beaking joint, beaky-nosed, beal, beale, beale street, beam, beam aerial, beam antenna, beam brick, beam compass, beam engine

British Dictionary definitions for off the beam

beam

/ (biːm) /

noun

a long thick straight-sided piece of wood, metal, concrete, etc, esp one used as a horizontal structural member

any rigid member or structure that is loaded transversely

the breadth of a ship or boat taken at its widest part, usually amidships

a ray or column of light, as from a beacon

a broad smile

one of the two cylindrical rollers on a loom, one of which holds the warp threads before weaving, the other the finished work

the main stem of a deer's antler from which the smaller branches grow

the central shaft of a plough to which all the main parts are attached

a narrow unidirectional flow of electromagnetic radiation or particles a beam of light; an electron beam

the horizontal centrally pivoted bar in a balance

informal the width of the hips (esp in the phrase broad in the beam)

a beam in one's eye a fault or grave error greater in oneself than in another person

off beam or off the beam

not following a radio beam to maintain a course
informal wrong, mistaken, or irrelevant

on the beam

following a radio beam to maintain a course
nautical opposite the beam of a vessel; abeam
informal correct, relevant, or appropriate

verb

to send out or radiate (rays of light)

(tr) to divert or aim (a radio signal or broadcast, light, etc) in a certain direction to beam a programme to Tokyo

to pass (data, esp business card details, etc) from one hand-held computer to another by means of infrared beams

(intr) to smile broadly with pleasure or satisfaction

Derived forms of beam

beamed, adjective beaming, adjective, noun beamless, adjective beamlike, adjective

beamy, adjective

Word Origin for beam

Old English beam; related to Gothic bagms tree, Old High German boum tree

Idioms and Phrases with off the beam (1 of 2)

off the beam

Off course, on the wrong track, as in He's way off the beam with that argument. This colloquial term and its antonym, on the beam, meaning “on the right track,” allude to directing aircraft by means of radio beams. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]

Idioms and Phrases with off the beam (2 of 2)

beam

see broad in the beam; off the beam.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

beam

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for beam

Origin of beam

SYNONYMS FOR beam

OTHER WORDS FROM beam

Words nearby beam

British Dictionary definitions for off the beam

noun

verb

Derived forms of beam

Word Origin for beam

Idioms and Phrases with off the beam (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with off the beam (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

beam

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for beam

Origin of beam

SYNONYMS FOR beam

OTHER WORDS FROM beam

Words nearby beam

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for off the beam

noun

verb

Derived forms of beam

Word Origin for beam

Idioms and Phrases with off the beam (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with off the beam (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for off the beam