Home / Dictionary / beam

beam

/biːm/
noun

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

  2. One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building; one of the transverse members of a ship's frame on which the decks are laid — supported at the sides by knees in wooden ships and by stringers in steel ones.

  3. 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)

    "This ship has more beam than that one."

    Similar: breadth

Synonymsbeam feather, breadth, walking beam, working beam
verb

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

    "to beam forth light"

  2. To smile broadly or especially cheerfully.

  3. To furnish or supply with beams

Practice "beam" in context

WordNote uses spaced repetition across multiple quiz levels, from recognizing the meaning to recalling it in active practice.

Save to WordNote — it's free →

No credit card. No install required.