Abeam

//əˈbiːm// adj, adv, prep

adj, adv, prep ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Alongside or abreast; opposite the center of the side of the ship or aircraft.

    "The island was directly abeam of us."

  2. 2
    Beaming, shining (especially with reference to a person's face or eyes). not-comparable

    "1876, William Davidson, Sermons on the Parables, Cincinnati: Western Tract Society, Sermon 1, p. 41, […] the hearts of the saints [will] be all attention and their faces all abeam for the consolation;"

Adverb
  1. 1
    On the beam; at a right angle to the centerline or keel of a vessel or aircraft; being at a bearing approximately 90° or 270° relative.

    "We were heading S.S.W., and had a steady breeze abeam and a quiet sea."

  2. 2
    Alongside or abreast; opposite the center of the side of the ship or aircraft.
Adverb
  1. 1
    at right angles to the length of a ship or airplane wordnet
Preposition
  1. 1
    Alongside.

    "She came abeam the crippled ship."

Synonyms

All synonyms
abreastalongbesideby

Example

More examples

"We were heading S.S.W., and had a steady breeze abeam and a quiet sea."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From a- (“in the direction of”) + beam (“keel”).

Etymology 2

From a- + beam (“to emit beams of light”).

Related phrases

right angle

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.