Meaning & use
beam
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Meanings
nouncountable
a long, strong piece of wood, metal, or concrete used to support a structure such as a roof or floor.
Grammar: Countable: one beam, two beams.
Patterns
- a wooden beam
- a steel beam
- support beam
The workers lifted the steel beam into place.
The old house had heavy wooden beams across the ceiling.
A crack in the main beam made the roof unsafe.
nouncountable
a line of light or other energy that travels in one direction.
Grammar: Countable: a beam of light, laser beams.
Patterns
- a beam of light
- laser beam
- headlight beam
A beam of sunlight came through the window.
The flashlight's beam lit up the path ahead.
The laser beam cut through the metal.
verbintransitive
to smile widely and happily.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'with' or 'at': She beamed with pride.
Patterns
- beam at someone
- beam with pride
- beam with joy
She beamed at her daughter across the room.
He beamed with pride when he received the award.
The children beamed as they opened their presents.
verbtransitive
to send out a signal, especially for radio, television, or the internet.
Grammar: Takes an object: beam a signal; often used in the passive: The match was beamed to millions.
Patterns
- beam something to somewhere
- beam something around the world
The concert was beamed live to audiences around the world.
The satellite beams the signal back to Earth.
They beamed the data to the research station.
Word forms
| third person singular | beams |
|---|---|
| past tense | beamed |
| past participle | beamed |
| -ing form | beaming |
| plural | beams |
Common combinations
- beam of light
- A beam of light shone through the crack in the door.
- steel beam
- The bridge is supported by huge steel beams.
- beam with pride
- His parents beamed with pride at his graduation.
- laser beam
- The surgeon used a laser beam to make a precise cut.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rafter
- A rafter is a sloping beam that supports a roof; a beam is a more general term for any long supporting piece.
- girder
- A girder is a large steel beam, especially one used in bridges or big buildings; a beam can be smaller or made of wood.
- ray
- A ray is a narrow beam of light or energy; 'beam' often suggests a wider or more directed line.
- grin
- To grin is to smile broadly, sometimes without happiness; to beam is to smile with clear joy and brightness.
Word family
- beaming adjective
- smiling widely and happily: a beaming face.
Commonly confused: beam or bean?
beam vs bean
A bean is a seed used as food; a beam is a piece of wood or metal, or a line of light. They sound similar but are different words.
Practice
Choose the correct word to complete the sentence: 'The satellite ______ the signal back to Earth.'
Choose one answer.
The subject 'satellite' is third person singular, so the verb needs -s: 'beams'. 'Beam' is the base form, 'beaming' is the -ing form, and 'beamed' is past tense, which would not match the present tense of the sentence.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “beam”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.