beacons 1 of 2

noun

plural of beacon
as in lamps
something that provides illumination the floodlit skyscraper is one of the city's most beloved nighttime beacons

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beacons

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of beacon
as in illumines
to supply with light a lone lighthouse beacons the entrance to the island's only harbor

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of beacons
Noun
This project would fund the installation of rapid rectangular rapid flash beacons (RRFB) on Argyle east of the River to increase driver awareness of crossing pedestrians and improve pedestrian safety at this intersection near the park trial. — Sabrina Franza, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 The only visible sign of it was its green eyeshine, two beacons burning with their own copper fire. — Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 21 Sep. 2026 Others use trees almost like beacons to guide them into a field. — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026 On Broadway, these glow like amber beacons, alas offering a respite from the darkness that best serves what Holloway and Barrett are trying to do. — Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 26 Aug. 2026 The park service urged visitors to stay on paved roads during times of extreme heat, carry satellite phones or beacons and have plenty of drinking water on hand. — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026 Officials recommend that hikers carry personal locator beacons when venturing into remote areas. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026 If the truck and the Walkman were metaphorical beacons, a modest gold, rope necklace and Jeff Kent’s mustache were concealed anchors even when in plain sight. — Jose De Jesus Ortiz, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026 The feat required a small armada of instruments—acoustic transponders, pressure gauges, hydrophones (underwater seismic microphones) and geodetic beacons—deployed across a tectonically active stretch of a mid-ocean ridge. — Sam MacDonald, Scientific American, 8 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beacons
  1. lamps
  2. lights
  3. candles
  4. illuminates
  5. headlights
Noun
  • Like the main house, the ADU’s interiors mix new pieces with vintage accessories, including a Room & Board four-poster bed in the bedroom and midcentury ceramic lamps, textiles and artworks that Donnelly found at Los Angeles estate sales.
    — Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Rather than lighting an entire room, try task lighting like reading lamps, under-the-cabinet light strips, and desk lamps that illuminate a workspace.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of lamps
Verb
  • If Mick hadn’t come cruising into that playground, lights off?
    — George Saunders, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Alex Consani walks into a room and lights the whole thing up.
    — Time, Time, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of lights
Noun
  • The Greek patriarch will light candles and then the flame is passed from one candle to the next.
    — Sam Mednick, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
Definition of candles
Verb
  • During the Halloween season, Shawn and Ryan Tofte’s house illuminates with a cool blue hue while jack-o’-lanterns provide a warm glow on the steps and yard.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Unlike a standard microscope, which illuminates an entire sample at once and can produce blurry images, a confocal microscope focuses on one depth level at a time.
    — Molly Herring, Quanta Magazine, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of illuminates
Noun
  • Brumbelow has found that cars with headlights rated highly by IIHS for visibility—which includes many but not all LED headlights—have 19% fewer nighttime crashes compared to cars with poor headlight visibility.
    — Matt Fuchs, Time, 4 Aug. 2025
Definition of headlights

Browse Nearby Words

beaconing
beacons
bead
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Cite this Entry

“Beacons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beacons. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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