as in light
something that provides illumination
the floodlit skyscraper is one of the city's most beloved nighttime beacons
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as in to illumine
to supply with light
a lone lighthouse beacons the entrance to the island's only harbor
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Examples of beacon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 19 Sep. 2024
The Chelsea’s neon beacon has been divided into pieces, as auctioneer Arlan Ettinger, owner of the auction house Guernsey’s, tells the New York Times’ James Barron.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Sep. 2024
Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 2 July 2019
See all Example Sentences for beacon 
Noun
Rescue beacons set up by U.S. Customs and Border Protection along some sections of the southern border allow migrants in distress to request emergency assistance.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 19 Sep. 2024
The Chelsea’s neon beacon has been divided into pieces, as auctioneer Arlan Ettinger, owner of the auction house Guernsey’s, tells the New York Times’ James Barron.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Sep. 2024
Verb
Find My Friends seemed to offer me no warning whatsoever that its settings had been changed to beacon my location to her in real-time.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 2 July 2019
See all Example Sentences for beacon
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beacon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Beacon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beacon. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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