Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
Beams - 2 dictionary results
Beam Central Vacuums
Beam Central Vacuums and Parts. Beam Vacuums. Free Shipping!
www.ThinkVacuums.com/Beam
OC Decorative beams
Sales and installation of false Beams/Columns/Rafter Tails
www.crystalfinish.com
Spring Design Software
Spring-Pro 5.0 Free Demo Design-Tech
dtspro.com

beam

  [beem]
Use Beams in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of various relatively long pieces of metal, wood, stone, etc., manufactured or shaped esp. for use as rigid members or parts of structures or machines.
2. Building Trades. a horizontal bearing member, as a joist or lintel.
3. Engineering. a rigid member or structure supported at each end, subject to bending stresses from a direction perpendicular to its length.
4. Nautical.
a. a horizontal structural member, usually transverse, for supporting the decks and flats of a vessel.
b. the extreme width of a vessel.
c. the shank of an anchor.
5. Aeronautics. the direction perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of an aircraft and outward from the side.
6. the widest part.
7. Slang. the measure across both hips or buttocks: broad in the beam.
8. Machinery.
a. walking beam.
b. (in a loom) a roller or cylinder on which the warp is wound before weaving.
c. a similar cylinder on which cloth is wound as it is woven.
9. the crossbar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales or pans are suspended.
10. a ray of light: The sun shed its beams upon the vineyard.
11. a group of nearly parallel rays.
12. Radio, Aeronautics. a signal transmitted along a narrow course, used to guide pilots through darkness, bad weather, etc.
13. Electronics. a narrow stream of electrons, as that emitted from the electron gun of a cathode ray tube.
14. the angle at which a microphone or loudspeaker functions best.
15. the cone-shaped range of effective use of a microphone or loudspeaker.
16. Citizens Band Radio Slang. beam antenna.
17. a gleam; suggestion: a beam of hope.
18. a radiant smile.
19. the principal stem of the antler of a deer.
–verb (used with object)
20. to emit in or as in beams or rays.
21. Radio. to transmit (a signal) in a particular direction.
22. Radio and Television. to direct (a program, commercial message, etc.) to a predetermined audience.
–verb (used without object)
23. to emit beams, as of light.
24. to smile radiantly or happily.
—Idioms
25. 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.
26. fly the beam, Radio, Aeronautics. (of an aircraft) to be guided by a beam.
27. off the beam,
a. not on the course indicated by a radio beam.
b. Informal. wrong; incorrect: The pollsters were off the beam again for the last presidential election.
28. on the beam,
a. on the course indicated by a radio beam, as an airplane.
b. Nautical. at right angles to the keel.
c. Informal. proceeding well; correct; exact: Their research is right on the beam and the results should be very valuable.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME beem, OE bēam tree, post, ray of light; c. OFris bām, OS bōm, D boom, OHG boum (G Baum), Goth bagms, ON bathmr tree; the identity of the consonant which has assimilated itself to the following m is unclear, as is the original root; perh. Gmc *bagmaz < *bargmaz < IE *bhorǵh-mos growth; see barrow 2

Related forms:
beamless, adjective
beamlike, adjective

Synonyms:
10. See gleam. 20. See shine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Beams
Beam Central Vacuums
Beam Central Vacuums and Parts. Beam Vacuums. Free Shipping!
www.ThinkVacuums.com/Beam
OC Decorative beams
Sales and installation of false Beams/Columns/Rafter Tails
www.crystalfinish.com
beam   (bēm)   
n.  
  1. A squared-off log or a large, oblong piece of timber, metal, or stone used especially as a horizontal support in construction.
  2. Nautical
    1. A transverse structural member of a ship's frame, used to support a deck and to brace the sides against stress.
    2. The breadth of a ship at the widest point.
    3. The side of a ship: sighted land off the starboard beam.
    4. The bar of a balance from which weighing pans are suspended.
    5. Sports A balance beam.
    6. A ray or shaft of light.
    7. A concentrated stream of particles or a similar propagation of waves: a beam of protons; a beam of light.
  3. Informal The widest part of a person's hips: broad in the beam.
  4. A steel tube or wooden roller on which the warp is wound in a loom.
  5. An oscillating lever connected to an engine piston rod and used to transmit power to the crankshaft.
    1. The bar of a balance from which weighing pans are suspended.
    2. Sports A balance beam.
    3. A ray or shaft of light.
    4. A concentrated stream of particles or a similar propagation of waves: a beam of protons; a beam of light.
  7. The main horizontal bar on a plow to which the share, colter, and handles are attached.
  8. One of the main stems of a deer's antlers.
    1. A ray or shaft of light.
    2. A concentrated stream of particles or a similar propagation of waves: a beam of protons; a beam of light.
  10. A radio beam.
v.   beamed, beam·ing, beams

v.   intr.
  1. To radiate light; shine.
  2. To smile expansively.
v.   tr.
  1. To emit or transmit: beam a message via satellite.
  2. To express by means of a radiant smile: He beamed his approval of the new idea.

[Middle English bem, from Old English bēam; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Beams on Thesaurus | Reference
Spring Design Software
Spring-Pro 5.0 Free Demo Design-Tech
dtspro.com
Beams
Find Beams at Target. Shop and Save at Target.com.
www.Target.com
Columns
Large Line of Cast Stone Columns, Fireplaces, Moldings and Much More!
Castlestone.YellowBookLeads.com