beacon
Plural: beacons
Noun
- a fire (usually on a hill or tower) that can be seen from a distance
- a radio station that broadcasts a directional signal for navigational purposes
- a tower with a light that gives warning of shoals to passing ships
- A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.
- 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.
- A high hill or other easily distinguishable object near the shore which can serve as guidance for seafarers.
- That which gives notice of danger, hope, etc., or keeps people on the correct path; a source of inspiration.
- An electronic device that broadcasts a signal to nearby portable devices, enabling smartphones etc. to perform actions when in physical proximity to the beacon.
- Ellipsis of web beacon.
Verb
Verb Forms: beaconed, beaconing, beacons
- To light up, warn, or guide, as with a light.
- shine like a beacon
- guide with a beacon
- To act as a beacon.
- To give light to, as a beacon; to light up; to illumine.
- To furnish with a beacon or beacons.
Examples
- a beacon of hope
- The open triple-word score square seemed to beacon him to play there.
Origin / Etymology
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”).
Synonyms
beacon fire, beacon light, lighthouse, pharos, radio beacon
Scrabble Score: 10
beacon: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordbeacon: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
beacon: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary