beam
part of speech
noun (beam, beams); verb (beam, beams, beamed, beaming)
meaning for a pupil
1) A beam is a long, strong piece of wood or metal that holds up a roof or floor in a building. tree →
2) A beam is also a line of light, like a beam from a torch. tree →
3) To beam is to smile very widely and happily. tree →
4) A balance beam is a narrow bar that gymnasts walk and jump on. tree →
5) To beam something is to send it, like a signal or a picture. tree →
sense in the lessons
a length that is cut or a thing counted in a building; in science: a beam of light travels in a straight line, mirrors bounce beams; in sport: gymnasts on the balance beam; in stories: a lighthouse beam, someone beaming with joy; phrases: «a beam of light», «beam with pride», «on the beam»
examples
- The beam is 6 metres long. tree →
- They cut the beam into 3 equal parts. tree →
- The roof needs 12 beams. tree →
- Each beam weighs 40 kg. tree →
- A beam of light came from the lighthouse. tree →
- Light beams travel in straight lines. tree →
- She beamed when she got her prize. tree →
- The gymnast did a cartwheel on the beam. tree →
- Old houses have wooden beams on the ceiling. tree →
- Her face beamed when she exclaimed this. tree →
note
A length to be cut: 3 parts need 2 cuts. Lengths of parts add to the whole beam. In science, a beam shows light goes in straight lines. «Beaming» (smiling) is about feelings, not numbers.
In the corpora
- The Badger beams — that's exactly what he thinks!
- Reflective material sends a car's headlight beam back towards the driver.
- A beam bridge is a plank resting on supports.
- A beam bridge is a flat deck resting on supports.
- When a plank or beam bends under a load, its top is squashed and its bottom is stretched.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «beam» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.