beam (b m)n. 1. A squared-off log or a large, oblong piece of timber, metal, or stone used especially as a horizontal support in construction. 2. Nautical a. A transverse structural member of a ship's frame, used to support a deck and to brace the sides against stress. b. The breadth of a ship at the widest point. c. The side of a ship: sighted land off the starboard beam. 3. Informal The widest part of a person's hips: broad in the beam. 4. A steel tube or wooden roller on which the warp is wound in a loom. 5. An oscillating lever connected to an engine piston rod and used to transmit power to the crankshaft. 6. a. The bar of a balance from which weighing pans are suspended. b. Sports A balance beam. 7. The main horizontal bar on a plow to which the share, colter, and handles are attached. 8. One of the main stems of a deer's antlers. 9. a. A ray or shaft of light. b. A concentrated stream of particles or a similar propagation of waves: a beam of protons; a beam of light. 10. A radio beam. v. beamed, beam·ing, beams v.intr. 1. To radiate light; shine. 2. To smile expansively. v.tr. Idiom: 1. To emit or transmit: beam a message via satellite. 2. To express by means of a radiant smile: He beamed his approval of the new idea. on the beam 1. Following a radio beam. Used of aircraft. 2. On the right track; operating correctly. [Middle English bem, from Old English b am; see bheu - in Indo-European roots.] |
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