BEAM Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

beam 1 of 2

noun

ˈbēm

as in ray

a narrow sharply defined line of light radiating from an object we'll need a flashlight that casts a broader beam in order to really see anything

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beam

2 of 2

verb

as in to shine

to emit rays of light a lighthouse has beamed from this site since the 1790s

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as in to grin

to express an emotion (as amusement) by curving the lips upward my father beamed when I showed him my new car

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of beam

Noun

But there’s nothing that prepares you for the breathtaking aspect of seeing your home planet both lit up bright as day and also the moon glow on it at night, with the beautiful beam of the sunset. —

Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026 When these rapidly spinning neutron stars blast out radiation from their poles, that radiation sweeps across the cosmos like beams of light from a cosmic lighthouse. —

Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2026

Verb

Fans of original Trek will also be happy to see Spock, Uhura and, later, Scotty, on the show, beaming down with their old-school flip communicators. —

Chris McMullen, Space.com, 24 Mar. 2026 Wing started in 2012 in Google’s moonshot factory, whose ambitious projects have included self-driving cars, smartglasses and stratospheric balloons to beam internet. —

Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for beam

Recent Examples of Synonyms for beam

Noun

An iron nucleus, a common cosmic-ray culprit, wouldn’t be affected the same way a proton is and could make that long journey to Earth.

— Phil Plait, Scientific American, 3 Apr. 2026
Then the fact that the more distant radio wave pulses aligned with gamma-ray blasts from these pulsars detected by NASA's Fermi Space Telescope indicated to the team that both types of electromagnetic radiation were being emitted from the same non-polar and distant regions around these pulsars.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2026