beam
8
7.7
- noun
- /biːm/
- Specialized
:
manga
- Mack crawled around on the exposed beams of the lobby, wiping them down with a damp rag.
- length overall and beam
- draft and beam
- a wide beam
Examples
-
Madagascar is now off my starboard beam, wind is about 10 knots I guess.
-
The yacht's wide beam provides ample space for entertaining guests on board.
-
Alcatraz Island on port beam, sir.
-
Picking up gate vessels off both beams.
-
A cloud on the starboard beam.
-
You're coming in too close to some iron support beams.
-
Boat with two armed men is approaching on your starboard beam.
-
On their port beam, a spot of light was swinging to and fro in an arc.
Fiction book (1994) -
Some of these structures were incredibly well preserved, with intact niches, wall plaster, and roof beams.
Academic text (2003) -
With a beam of 25 feet, the ship is designed for stability in rough waters.
Idioms
1
7.9
Wide from side to side, like a boat that is very stable or a person with wide hips
Compounds
- Specialized
17
3.9
A very narrow, bright light in one color that can cut or point at things
- Specialized
7
6.8
A narrow, focused stream of tiny particles like electrons used in science and medicine
- Specialized
2
5.7
A long metal piece shaped like the letter I that supports buildings and bridges
- Specialized
1
4.6
A focused stream of tiny charged particles used to make images in special microscopes
- Specialized
1
5.2
A balance with a long bar that turns and uses a sliding weight to measure how heavy something is
- Specialized
1
5.5
A strong piece of wood or metal that holds the weight of parts of a building
- Archaic
Ends of the support pieces that run across a ship's deck when it leans nearly vertical
- Specialized
A long hollow structure made from boards with a rectangular shape that supports parts of a building
A bright car light that shines straight ahead and should only be used when no other cars are near
A very bright car light that can blind other drivers and is used when no cars are nearby
A strong front light on a car used when no other cars come because it can blind drivers
A headlight setting that lights the road without blinding other drivers
A bright car light that shines far and should be used only when no other cars are ahead
- Specialized
A narrow stream of tiny charged particles used to change material surfaces
- Specialized
A narrow radio signal that helps pilots find the runway in poor visibility
A light on a car that makes a low beam to light the road without hurting other drivers' eyes
- Specialized
A beam that sits below a crane hook to spread weight when lifting heavy objects
Surface Forms
Etymology
Beam meaning the width of a ship comes from the wooden cross-beam that helped set a ship's size, so the word came to mean the ship's widest part. So the ship's beam tells you how broad the ship is at its widest point.