| Definitions | beam
noun
- Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.
- 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.
- (nautical) The maximum width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam than another; also called breadth. (FM 55-501).
- The crossbar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.
- The principal stem of the antler of a deer.
- The pole of a carriage.
- 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.
- The straight part or shank of an anchor.
- The central bar 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.
- 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.
- A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat.
- (figurative) A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort.
- One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also beam feather.
- (music) A horizontal bar which connects the stems of two or more notes to group them and to indicate metric value.
Translations: - Dutch: balk(nl)
- French: faisceau(fr, rayon, m}}, {{t, fr)m
- German: Strahl (m)
- Italian: raggio(it)m
- Spanish: viga(es)f
verb
- (context, science fiction) To transmit matter or information via a high-tech wireless mechanism.
- Beam me up, Scotty; there's no intelligent life down here. Star Trek
- To smile broadly or especially cheerfully.
Etymology: Middle English beem, Old English beamOld English, bÄam, originally meaning "tree," cognate with Dutch boom, German Baum, Old High German boum "tree"
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