beacon

/ˈbiːkən/

beacon noun: a signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning. Also the ellipsis of web beacon.

Noun

beacon (plural beacons)

A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.
- No flaming Beacons caſt their Blaze afar, / The dreadful Signal of invaſive VVar.1713, [John] Gay, Rural Sports. A Poem. […], 2nd edition, London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 15
A signal, buoy, post, or other conspicuous mark erected on an eminence near the shore, or moored in shoal water, as a guide to mariners, particularly to warn vessels of danger.
- Henceforth, wherever thou may’st roam, / ⁠My blessing, like a line of light, / ⁠Is on the waters day and night, / And like a beacon guards thee home.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XVII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 28
A high hill or other easily distinguishable object near the shore which can serve as guidance for seafarers.
(figuratively) That which gives notice of danger, hope, etc., or keeps people on the correct path; a source of inspiration.
- a beacon of hope
- Modest doubt is called / The beacon of the wise.c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
An electronic device that broadcasts a signal to nearby portable devices, enabling smartphones etc. to perform actions when in physical proximity to the beacon.

Verb

beacon (third-person singular simple present beacons, present participle beaconing, simple past and past participle beaconed)

(intransitive) To act as a beacon.
(transitive) To give light to, as a beacon; to light up; to illumine.
- That beacons the darkness of heaven.1801, Thomas Campbell, Lochiel's Warning
(transitive) To furnish with a beacon or beacons.

Proper noun capitalized: Beacon

Beacon

Also used as

beacon is also the ellipsis of web beacon.

beacon meaning in Arabic

beacon in Arabic

signal fire: فَنَار fanār
signaling or guiding mark erected as guide to mariners: مَنَار manār

Examples of beacon in a sentence

In rotation, each member of the group would be responsible for the beacon fire.
She looked at the Heavenward beam of light emitting from the rescue beacon.
"Enter ayahuasca, the mystical grandmother of the psychedelic family, a beacon of profound spiritual experiences"

All 36 example sentences with beacon

Forms of beacon

Noun
plural	beacons
Verb
third-person singular present	beacons
present participle	beaconing
past participle	beaconed
past	beaconed

Plural of beacon: beacons

Origin of beacon

From Middle English beken, from Old English bēacn (“sign, signal”), from Proto-West Germanic *baukn, from Proto-Germanic *baukną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂u-, *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Doublet of buoy. Compare West Frisian beaken (“buoy”), Dutch baken (“beacon”), Middle Low German bāke (“beacon, sign”), German Bake (“traffic sign”), Middle High German bouchen (“sign”).

Phrases with beacon

Words that rhyme with beacon

Questions about beacon

What does beacon mean?: Beacon means a signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.
What is beacon in Arabic?: Beacon in Arabic is فَنَار (fanār), مَنَار (manār). See Beacon meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is beacon?: Beacon can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce beacon?: Beacon is pronounced /ˈbiːkən/ (UK).
What is the plural of beacon?: The plural of beacon is beacons.

Words near beacon in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: beacon (page history and authors); Beacon (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-beacon.wav.

Cite this entry: “beacon.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/beacon. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.