to beam down
- phrasal verb
- Specialized
- radio signals beamed down
Examples
-
Close enough to beam down?
Fiction book (1991) -
Captain Kirk is beaming down to the to the surface of the planet, OK?
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Transporter room, stand by to beam down.
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ln the meantime, Captain Chekov, l instruct you and your first officer to beam down to my coordinates.
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"Our experts predict that we could beam energy down from orbit at a fraction of the cost of current sources." "What's wrong with that?" Adrian asked.
Fiction book (1999) -
The satellite will beam down the latest weather data to ground stations this afternoon.
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Scientists plan to beam down a series of high-definition images from the space probe.
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The television station will beam down the live broadcast of the event from the helicopter.
Synonyms
To send a television or radio show to many people
To send data from a satellite to a ground station or device
Antonyms
How Widely
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'beam' (to shine/send out) combined with 'down' (toward a lower level) directly suggests sending or shining something downward, so a learner who knows both words can infer a sense of transmitting downward. However, the specific technical sense of broadcasting data/signals (rather than literal light) is a metaphorical extension and may not be fully predictable without prior exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Beam down comes from the picture of a satellite sending a thin beam straight down to the ground, so it means 'send a signal or data downward'.