The difference between Beam and Breadth

When used as nouns, beam means any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use, whereas breadth means the extent or measure of how broad or wide something is.

Beam is also verb with the meaning: to emit beams of light.

check bellow for the other definitions of Beam and Breadth

  1. Beam as a noun:

    Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.

  2. Beam as a noun:

    One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building; one of the transverse members of a ship's frame on which the decks are laid — supported at the sides by knees in wooden ships and by stringers in steel ones.

  3. Beam as a noun (nautical):

    The maximum width of a vessel.

    Examples:

    "This ship has more beam than that one."

  4. Beam as a noun:

    The crossbar of a mechanical balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended.

  5. Beam as a noun:

    The principal stem of the antler of a deer.

  6. Beam as a noun (literary):

    The pole of a carriage or chariot.

  7. Beam as a noun (textiles):

    A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving and the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven.

  8. Beam as a noun:

    The straight part or shank of an anchor.

  9. Beam as a noun:

    The central bar of a plow, to which the handles and colter are secured, and to the end of which are attached the oxen or horses that draw it.

  10. Beam as a noun:

    In steam engines, a heavy iron lever having an oscillating motion on a central axis, one end of which is connected with the piston rod from which it receives motion, and the other with the crank of the wheel shaft.

  11. Beam as a noun:

    A ray or collection of approximately parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body.

    Examples:

    "a beam of light"

    "a beam of energy"

  12. Beam as a noun (figuratively):

    A ray; a gleam.

    Examples:

    "a beam of hope, or of comfort"

  13. Beam as a noun:

    One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk.

  14. Beam as a noun (music):

    A horizontal bar which connects the stems of two or more notes to group them and to indicate metric value.

  15. Beam as a noun (railway):

    An elevated rectangular dirt pile used to cheaply build an elevated portion of a railway.

  1. Beam as a verb (ambitransitive):

    To emit beams of light; shine; radiate.

    Examples:

    "to beam forth light"

  2. Beam as a verb (intransitive, figuratively):

    To smile broadly or especially cheerfully.

  3. Beam as a verb (transitive):

    To furnish or supply with beams

  4. Beam as a verb (transitive):

    To give the appearance of beams to.

  5. Beam as a verb (transitive, science fiction):

    To transmit matter or information via a high-tech wireless mechanism.

    Examples:

    "Beam me up, Scotty; there's no intelligent life down here."

    "The injured crewmembers were immediately beamed to sickbay."

  6. Beam as a verb (transitive, currying):

    To stretch something (for example an animal hide) on a beam.

  7. Beam as a verb (transitive, weaving):

    To put (something) on a beam

  8. Beam as a verb (transitive, music):

    To connect (musical notes) with a beam, or thick line, in music notation.

  1. Breadth as a noun:

    The extent or measure of how broad or wide something is.

  2. Breadth as a noun:

    A piece of fabric of standard width.

  3. Breadth as a noun:

    Scope or range, especially of knowledge or skill.

  4. Breadth as a noun (arts):

    A style in painting in which details are strictly subordinated to the harmony of the whole composition.

  5. Breadth as a noun (graph theory):

    The length of the longest path between two vertices in a graph.

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