beams 1 of 2

Definition of beamsnext
plural of beam
as in rays
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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beams

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of beam

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 beams
Noun
Transported deep underground, the steel beams will be used for the construction of massive detector modules that will help Fermilab engineers to study neutrinos, some of the most common and least understood particles in the universe. Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 8 May 2026 The first step involves getting 10 million pounds of steel beams underground through a 20-foot-wide shaft—and that only covers the first container. Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 8 May 2026 But the find stopped the machines until the beams were removed, delaying construction. Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 7 May 2026 Since the turn of the millennium, researchers have developed photonic-crystal lasers that are tiny, energy-efficient, highly controllable, and can emit very bright, narrow beams. IEEE Spectrum, 7 May 2026 Inevitably, team evil has cooler powers, like Sindel’s scream and Kung Lao’s hat of doom, but in addition to allotting an inordinate amount of its combat time to Shao Kahn, who’s just a hulking guy with a hammer, the movie’s big visual idea is characters blasting one another with beams. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 6 May 2026 Ali Nassiri, a local welder, spent 30 consecutive hours at the site, using his professional tools to cut through steel beams. Zohreh Saberi, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026 Smaller children from a nearby elementary school were availing themselves of climbers, slides, and beams. Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 4 May 2026 And the galleries as a whole are meant to have a permanence akin to The Met’s Egyptian galleries or its Greek and Roman ones, according to Bolton, who highlighted the materiality, plaster walls, beams and lighting that also project onto the ceiling for a cloud-like feel. Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 4 May 2026
Verb
Wade beams as his children describe their meal. Andy Rose, CNN Money, 6 Apr. 2026 Nicholas Hoult beams with his bleached hair and Prada button-up courtside at the Lakers versus Cleveland Cavaliers game in Los Angeles on March 31. Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 4 Apr. 2026 Now there’s Hoppers, the latest blockbuster Pixar film, which follows a girl who beams her brain into a beaver robot in the hope of saving a beloved habitat. David Sims, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026 Based on research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the device beams patients with gamma frequency light and sound for an hour a day. Mario Aguilar, STAT, 5 Mar. 2026 The room beams casual charm — plants, light woods, abstract prints on the wall to add color, a communal table and a toddler-size rocking chair among a couple Eames-style loungers — and couldn’t hold many more people. Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2026 The characters’ spoken language is unfamiliar, but passionate, and the performances are driven by pure intent that beams through their heavy prosthetics. Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026 The same cousin now beams about ChatGPT. Literary Hub, 24 Nov. 2025 This imager beams a monochrome green image directly to your eye, with a level of light dim enough to be safe but bright enough to be seen against ambient light. IEEE Spectrum, 13 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beams
Noun
  • Gamma rays are the most energetic type of light rays, typically marking the last gasp of a dying star or the cataclysmic clap of two neutron stars.
    Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2026
  • Gamma rays are produced only when particles from these two states collide and annihilate—which means some of the dark matter must be in the excited state in the first place.
    Paul M. Sutter, Scientific American, 6 May 2026
Verb
  • They were not shown basic empathy, which shines a [spotlight] on systemic problems.
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2026
  • They were drawn by the cheap land, low population, strong wind, and sun that shines an average of about 300 days a year.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 7 May 2026
Verb
  • Wells, hidden in a tiny video-village setup inside one of the set’s curtained exam rooms, grins at the monitor and turns around to give Einesman a thumbs-up.
    Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
  • Adam Brody grins from ear to ear while supporting Nobody Wants This at the 2026 PaleyFest in Los Angeles on April 8.
    Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 13 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • On the western horizon, Venus glows brightly at sunset, while Jupiter hangs just above it.
    Anthony Wood, Space.com, 1 May 2026
  • Even if other tracks on BASS2 don’t quite rise to the same level, the record glows with new confidence.
    Harry Tafoya, Pitchfork, 24 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Tang smiles from behind the counter.
    Amy Drew Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 May 2026
  • Love Story's Paul Anthony Kelly smiles for the camera during a coffee run in SoHo on April 29 in New York City.
    Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 3 May 2026
Verb
  • This advertised butt jokes, campy fight montages and sinister Seth Rogen laughs.
    Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
  • One can see why wrestling appealed to him—the crowd is everything, the rules mean nothing, and the referees are so feckless that they often get knocked out and everyone laughs.
    Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026

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“Beams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beams. Accessed 11 May. 2026.

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