beam weapon

noun

: a weapon that uses a beam of energy or radiation (such as a laser beam) to inflict damage
Despite this, inventors have envisioned giant superconducting storage rings that could provide huge amounts of power instantaneously for city power grids, or to power military beam weapons for use against ballistic missiles.Malcolm W. Browne

Examples of beam weapon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And while that film's titular megalomaniac was technically Chinese-German and not Russian, there's a timeliness to his nefarious scheme to foil an Ameri- can space launch with a terrifying high-tech radio-beam weapon. Chris Nashawaty, EW.com, 15 Sep. 2021 Translation: even with military funding the services wouldn’t see a particle beam weapon soon enough to make worthwhile. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 8 Sep. 2019 According to DefenseOne, the Pentagon wants to test a neutral particle beam weapon from orbit in 2023. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 18 Mar. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1977, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of beam weapon was in 1977

Dictionary Entries Near beam weapon

Cite this Entry

“Beam weapon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beam%20weapon. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!