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beam

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The broad side of a ship.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

beem
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbim

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The broad side of a ship

    “They sighted land on the port beam.”

  2. A broad smile.

  3. figuratively

    A ray; a gleam.

  4. literary

    The pole of a carriage or chariot.

verb

  1. Smile radiantly; express joy through one's facial expression

  2. intransitivefiguratively

    To smile broadly or especially cheerfully.

  3. ambitransitive

    To emit beams of light; to shine; to radiate.

  4. transitive

    To furnish or supply with beams.

  5. transitive

    To give the appearance of beams to.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The broad side of a ship

Used this way, beam is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“They sighted land on the port beam.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use beam

  • “They sighted land on the port beam.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Smile

beam current

Emit

laser beamray beam

Other combinations

electron beamion beambeam splitterincident beamexternal beam

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • beam balancenounCompound term

    A balance consisting of a lever with two equal arms and a pan suspended from each arm.

  • beam-endsnounCompound term

    At the ends of the transverse deck beams of a vessel.

  • beam of lightnounCompound term

    A column of light (as from a beacon).

  • beam scalenounCompound term

    A portable balance consisting of a pivoted bar with arms of unequal length.

  • box beamnounCompound term

    A beam built up from boards.

  • electron beamnounCompound term

    A group of nearly parallel lines of electromagnetic radiation.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: smile radiantly

glowshine

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.