beams

Noun

beam (plural beams)

1. (structural) Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.
   • And a letter vnto Asaph the keeper of the kings forrest, that he may giue me timber to make beames for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the Citie, and for the house that I shall enter into: And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God vpon...1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Nehemiah 2:8
2. (structural) One of the principal horizontal structural members, usually of steel, timber, or concrete, of a building.
   • The brasswork here, how rich it is in beams, / And how, besides, it makes the whole house sound.1614–1615, Homer, “(please specify the book number)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615...
3. One of the transverse members of a ship's frame on which the decks are laid, and acting as part of the support for keeping the sides of the vessel in shape — supported at the sides by knees in wooden ships and by stringers in steel ones; cf. abeam, beam-ends.
   • Capt. King, from Demarara, was invaded by the gale on the evening of the 6th, in lat. 21° 51', and his vessel was thrown on her beam ends. He was forced to cut away her main-mast. Lost a man, who was washed overboard.
     . . .
     Capt. Mood, on a voyage from Alexandria (Virginia), to St. Mary's...1805 Alexander Tilloch. Account of a terrible Hurricane in the West Indies 1804. Philosophical Magazine. Vol. XXI. P. 14
4. The maximum width of a vessel (note that a vessel with a beam of 15 foot can also be said to be 15 foot abeam).
   • This ship has more beam than that one.

   Synonyms:

   breadth

5. The direction across a vessel, perpendicular to fore-and-aft.
   • As the vessel passes a landmark, the landmark is said to be abeam. Once the vessel has passed the landmark, it falls abaft the beam, then it gradually falls astern.
6. The straight part or shank of an anchor.

See all 30 meanings of beam