Meaning & use
beckon
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To signal to someone, with a wave of the hand or a nod, that they should come toward you.
Grammar: Can take an object or be used alone, often with to: she beckoned to the waiter.
Patterns
- beckon someone
- beckon to someone
- beckon someone over
The teacher beckoned the boy to her desk.
He beckoned to a taxi from across the street.
She beckoned me over with a quick wave.
verbintransitivefigurativeliterary
To seem attractive and tempting, as if calling you to come.
Grammar: The subject is a place or chance, and the verb is often followed by a word like to or toward.
Patterns
- something beckons
- something beckons someone
The warm sea beckoned after a long day on the road.
A new career in Paris beckoned.
The glowing windows beckoned us toward the cabin.
Word forms
| third person singular | beckons |
|---|---|
| past tense | beckoned |
| past participle | beckoned |
| -ing form | beckoning |
Common combinations
- beckon someone over
- The coach beckoned the player over to the sideline.
- beckon with a finger
- She beckoned with a finger and the child followed.
- adventure beckons
- Adventure beckons for anyone who loves the outdoors.
- beckon from afar
- The mountains beckoned from afar.
- beckoning hand
- A beckoning hand appeared at the door.
- success beckons
- With one more win, success beckons.
Synonyms and how they differ
- signal
- Signal is general, covering any message sent by gesture or light, while beckon means calling someone toward you.
- summon
- Summon is stronger and more formal, often an order, where beckon is a gentle gesture.
- wave
- Wave describes the movement of the hand and need not ask anyone to come closer.
- lure
- Lure means to attract by offering something tempting and often hints at a trick.
Opposites
Word family
- beckoning adjective
- calling or inviting someone toward you
- beckoner noun
- a person who beckons
- beck noun
- a gesture of beckoning, now only in the phrase at someone's beck and call
Commonly confused: beckon or beacon?
beckon vs beacon
A beacon is a light or signal that guides people, while beckon is a verb meaning to call someone over with a gesture.
Practice
The host ___ to us from the doorway, so we walked across the lawn.
Choose one answer.
The sentence needs a past tense verb, and beckoned fits. Beckons is present tense, beckoning lacks a helper verb, and beacon is a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “beckon”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.