beam
(Slang)
[noun]
Synonyms:
- smile, grin
- ray, gleam, glimmer, glint, glow, shaft, streak, stream
- rafter, girder, joist, plank, spar, support, timber
[verb]
Synonyms:
- smile, grin
- radiate, glare, gleam, glitter, glow, shine
- send out, broadcast, emit, transmit

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English Thesaurus: smile, grin, beam, smirk, simper, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. beam¹ /biːm/ noun [countable]

1.
a) a line of light shining from the sun, a lamp etc:
the beam of a powerful flashlight
b) a line of light, energy etc that you cannot see:
a laser beam

2. a long heavy piece of wood or metal used in building houses, bridges etc

3. a wide happy smile:
a beam of delight

4. off beam British English informal incorrect or mistaken:
Our guesses were way off beam.

5. a balance beam

6. technical the widest part of a ship from side to side
⇒ broad in the beam at broad¹(1)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. beam² verb

1. [intransitive] to smile very happily:
Sherman looked at his sons and beamed proudly.
beam with
Connie beamed with pleasure.
beam at
McLeish beamed at her.

2. [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to send a radio or television signal through the air, especially to somewhere very distant:
the first sports broadcast to be beamed across the Atlantic

3. [intransitive and transitive] to send out a line of light, heat, energy etc:
The sun beamed through the clouds.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

beam
noun
I. ray of light
ADJ. bright, intense, piercing, powerful | narrow, thin | electron, laser, searchlight, torch
VERB + BEAM direct, point, send, shine | play He played the beam of his torch over the wall of the cave.
catch sb/sth in He was suddenly caught in the full beam of a searchlight.
BEAM + VERB shine | illuminate sth, light sth up
PREP. ~ from the beam from the lighthouse
~ of A beam of sunlight shone in through the window.
PHRASES on full beam car headlights on full beam

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

beam
II. long piece of wood/metal
ADJ. timber, wooden | oak | iron, metal, steel | old, original a cottage with original beams and a thatched roof
exposed a cosy pub with exposed oak beams
horizontal, vertical
BEAM + VERB support sth

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

beam
verb
ADV. broadly He beamed broadly at them, clearly very pleased to see them.
positively She positively beamed with satisfaction.
cheerfully, happily, proudly
PREP. at She beamed happily at Maxim.
with His face beamed with pleasure.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

smile to make your mouth curve upwards, in order to be friendly or because you are happy or amused:
She smiled when she read his email.
‘I’m delighted to meet you,' George said, smiling at the girl.
grin to give a big smile:
The two boys were grinning at each other.
The coach was grinning from ear to ear (=was grinning a lot) when the team scored.
beam to give a big happy smile for a long time, because you are very pleased or proud:
She beamed with pride as her son collected the award.
The wedding couple were outside beaming at the camera.
smirk to smile in an unpleasant way, for example because you are pleased about someone else’s bad luck or because you know something that someone else does not know:
The children smirked when the teacher dropped all the books on the floor.
What are you smirking about?
simper disapproving written to smile in a silly and annoying way:
a group of simpering schoolgirls
I hated the way she simpered every time a man spoke to her.
a big/huge etc grin
He walked towards me with a big grin.
a wide/broad grin
‘It was great!’ she shouted, with a wide grin.
a toothy grin (=one that shows your teeth a lot)
The man gave a large toothy grin.
a mischievous grin
'Let's play a trick on her’ he suggested with a mischievous grin.
a silly grin
‘Wipe that silly grin off your face!’ the teacher shouted.
a friendly grin
Sam greeted her with a friendly grin.
a delighted grin
‘I've managed to fix it!’ she said, with a delighted grin.
a sheepish grin (=an embarrassed grin because you have done something silly or wrong)
"Sorry", he said with a sheepish grin.
a sly grin
A sly grin crossed his face.
give a grin
Bill read the letter and gave a sudden grin.
break/split into a grin
The old man’s face broke into a grin.
flash somebody a grin (=smile quickly at someone)
Flashing me a grin over her shoulder, she got into the car.
a grin spreads (=a wide smile covers someone's face)
A self-satisfied grin spread across his face.
a grin widens (=someone starts smiling even more)
Marcus's amused grin widened.
a grin on sb’s face
He looked at Sarah, a big grin on his face.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

smile to make your mouth curve upwards, in order to be friendly or because you are happy or amused:
She smiled when she read his email.
‘I’m delighted to meet you,' George said, smiling at the girl.
grin to give a big smile:
The two boys were grinning at each other.
The coach was grinning from ear to ear (=was grinning a lot) when the team scored.
beam to give a big happy smile for a long time, because you are very pleased or proud:
She beamed with pride as her son collected the award.
The wedding couple were outside beaming at the camera.
smirk to smile in an unpleasant way, for example because you are pleased about someone else’s bad luck or because you know something that someone else does not know:
The children smirked when the teacher dropped all the books on the floor.
What are you smirking about?
simper disapproving written to smile in a silly and annoying way:
a group of simpering schoolgirls
I hated the way she simpered every time a man spoke to her.
give (somebody) a smile
The boy gave a friendly smile.
flash (somebody) a smile (=give a quick smile)
She flashed him a smile.
have a smile on your face/lips
They all had broad smiles on their faces.
be all smiles (=be happy or friendly and smile a lot)
One moment he’s all smiles, the next moment he shouts at me.
force/manage a smile (=smile when you do not really feel happy or friendly)
She forced a smile, but he could see disappointment in her face.
wear a smile (=have a smile on your face)
She wore a self-confident smile.
return sb’s smile (=smile back at someone)
I smiled at him, but he didn’t return my smile.
somebody breaks into a smile/sb’s face breaks into a smile (=they suddenly smile)
Anna’s face broke into a smile at the prospect of a guest.
a smile spreads across sb’s face (=they smile)
A faint smile spread across her face.
sb’s smile broadens (=it gets bigger)
His smile broadened when Sarah walked in.
sb’s smile fades/vanishes (=they stop smiling)
Her smile faded and a shaft of panic shot through her.
a big/broad/wide smile (=when you are very happy)
She had a big smile on her face.
a warm/friendly smile
Peter Leary welcomed Rachel with a warm smile.
a little/faint/slight smile
She gave him an apologetic little smile.
a quick smile
She gave him a quick smile.
a slow smile
A slow smile spread across his face.
a dazzling smile (=a big smile which shows someone’s white teeth)
When he came back she gave him her most dazzling smile.
a beaming/radiant smile (=when you are very happy)
‘I’m so pleased,’ she told him with a beaming smile.
a bright smile written (=when you look very happy, but you may not feel happy)
She forced a bright smile.
a tight smile written (=when you are not really happy or friendly)
As he stepped past Carson he gave a quick, tight smile of acknowledgement.
a wry smile written (=when a situation is bad but also amusing)
Guy’s mouth twisted into a wry smile.
a rueful smile written (=when you feel slightly sad)
‘I’ve been pretty stupid, haven’t I?’ Harry said with a rueful smile.
a knowing smile (=when you know something secret)
She wanted to smack him for his knowing smile.
frown the expression on your face when you move your eyebrows together because you are angry, unhappy, or confused:
With a frown, she asked, ‘So what’s wrong with that?’
scowl an angry or disapproving expression:
There was a scowl of irritation on his face.
glare a long angry look:
He gave her a furious glare, but said nothing.
grimace an expression you make by twisting your face because you do not like something or because you are feeling pain:
His face twisted into a grimace of anguish.
sneer an expression that shows you have no respect for something or someone:
‘That’s what you said last time,’ she said with a sneer.
pout an expression in which you push out your lower lip because you are unhappy that you did not get what you want:
‘You’re going away?’ she said with a pout.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

beam
bi:m
See: off the beam , on the beam

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲