{
    "term": "beam",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "a line of light, electromagnetic waves or particles",
            "labels": "(British English)",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "narrow **beams of light/sunlight**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the **beam of a torch/flashlight**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a **laser/electron beam**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The car's headlights were on **full beam** *(= shining as brightly as possible and not directed downwards)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He played the beam of his torch over the wall of the cave."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The beam from the lighthouse swept over the sea."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He was suddenly caught in the full beam of a searchlight."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They focus a high-powered X-ray beam on the affected area."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["light", "bright", "intense"],
                "verb + beam": ["emit", "fire", "shoot"],
                "beam + verb": ["shine", "illuminate something", "light something up"],
                "preposition": ["beam from", "beam of"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "a long piece of wood, metal, etc. used to support weight, especially as part of the roof in a building",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The cottage had exposed oak beams."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It was a charming cottage with original beams and a thatched roof."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A concrete beam was put in to replace the wall we removed."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The missiles are bolted to reinforced beams in the floor."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Buildings"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["timber", "wooden", "oak"],
                "beam + verb": ["support something"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "a wooden bar that is used in the sport of gymnastics for people to move and balance on",
            "labels": "(especially British English)North American English usually",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The gymnast performed a somersault on the beam."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "a wide and happy smile",
            "cefr": "c2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a beam of satisfaction"
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Appearance"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "not correct; wrong",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Your calculation is way off beam."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/biːm/",
                "audio": "be/beam/beam__gb_2.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/biːm/",
                "audio": "be/beam/beam__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Old English bēam ‘tree, beam’, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch boom and German Baum."
}