BEACON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does beacon mean? 

• BEACON (noun)
  The noun BEACON has 3 senses:

1. a fire (usually on a hill or tower) that can be seen from a distance

2. a radio station that broadcasts a directional signal for navigational purposes

3. a tower with a light that gives warning of shoals to passing ships

  Familiarity information: BEACON used as a noun is uncommon.

• BEACON (verb)
  The verb BEACON has 2 senses:

1. shine like a beacon

2. guide with a beacon

  Familiarity information: BEACON used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BEACON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A fire (usually on a hill or tower) that can be seen from a distance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

beacon; beacon fire

Hypernyms ("beacon" is a kind of...):

visual signal (a signal that involves visual communication)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "beacon"):

signal fire; signal light (a fire set as a signal)

Derivation:

beacon (shine like a beacon)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A radio station that broadcasts a directional signal for navigational purposes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

beacon; radio beacon

Hypernyms ("beacon" is a kind of...):

radio station (station for the production and transmission of AM or FM radio broadcasts)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A tower with a light that gives warning of shoals to passing ships

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

beacon; beacon light; lighthouse; pharos

Hypernyms ("beacon" is a kind of...):

tower (a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building)

Instance hyponyms:

Tower of Pharos (a great lighthouse (500 feet high) built at Alexandria in 285 BC)

Derivation:

beacon (guide with a beacon)

beacon (shine like a beacon)

• BEACON (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Shine like a beacon

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "beacon" is one way to...):

beam; shine (emit light; be bright, as of the sun or a light)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

beacon (a tower with a light that gives warning of shoals to passing ships)

beacon (a fire (usually on a hill or tower) that can be seen from a distance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Guide with a beacon

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "beacon" is one way to...):

conduct; direct; guide; lead; take (take somebody somewhere)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

beacon (a tower with a light that gives warning of shoals to passing ships)

 Context examples 

The candle, whose ray had been my beacon, burnt on the table; and by its light an elderly woman, somewhat rough-looking, but scrupulously clean, like all about her, was knitting a stocking.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

As the most luminous steady beacons in the Universe, quasars are believed to be powered by an accretion disk around the central black hole.

(Astronomers Study How Quasars Are Powered by Accretion Disks, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The result is a powerful radio beacon — the microwave equivalent of a laser.

(NASA Team Probes Peculiar Age-Defying Star, NASA)

This infalling matter emits lots of light, producing a brilliant beacon called a quasar, in the case of the most well-fed black holes.

(Hubble Uncovers Black Hole Disk that Shouldn't Exist, NASA)

Uranus, the planet of surprise, is positioned like a beacon at the top of your chart, in your tenth house of honors, awards, and achievement.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Betelgeuse has been a beacon in the night sky for stellar observers but it began to dim late last year.

(ESO Telescope Sees Surface of Dim Betelgeuse, ESO)

This cap was a beacon to the inquiring eyes of her family, who during these periods kept their distance, merely popping in their heads semi-occasionally to ask, with interest, "Does genius burn, Jo?"

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Let the wretched man who now addresses you, my dear Copperfield, be a beacon to you through life.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

If aligned well enough with Earth, these beams act like a lighthouse beacon — appearing to flash on and off as the pulsar rotates.

(NuSTAR Helps Find Universe's Brightest Pulsars, NASA)

Transcendentalism is a beacon to the angels, even if it be a will-o'-the-wisp to man.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)