Sunbeam

Definitions

1. A ray of sunlight; especially, a visible, narrow, and intense (relative to ambient light) ray of sunlight (as revealed by, for example, its diffraction among dust particles).
2. An unincorporated community in Moffat County, Colorado, United States.
3. Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Curetis.
4. An unincorporated community in Mercer County, Illinois, United States.
5. Any hummingbird of the genus Aglaeactis.
6. An unincorporated community in Logan County, West Virginia, United States.
7. Synonym of sunshine (“ironic form of address to an inferior or troublemaker”).
   UK
8. An item of cutlery or crockery laid out on a table, but not used, and which can be returned to the drawer without being washed.
   Australia, colloquial, dated

Equivalents

Examples

“I cut-in various other material to this; for instance, a shot of a rushing brook in springtime, with dancing sunbeams reflected in the water; of birds splashing in the village pond; and, finally, of a laughing child.”

“Similarly, the rays diverging from the sun will pass⟳ by you and converge on the point⟳ directly opposite the sun, the shadow of your head. All sunbeams, and thus all shadows, appear⟳ to converge there.[…]Only perspective makes all shadows appear⟳ to converge on the antisolar point⟳. But this point⟳ is also the center of the rainbow, so as you look⟳ at the rainbow, all sunbeams and shadows will lie⟳ along radii of the bow as they flow⟳ straight to its center.”

“I had frequently had to explain⟳ to cameramen that only in the early morning or late in the evening did sunbeams fall⟳ from the window as flat as they were usually found in films. The sun being higher during the hours of work⟳, another way of showing sunbeams had to be found.”

“DOCTOR: You seem to be our best bet⟳ so far, don't you think⟳ so, Mel? Mel? Where's Mel? DEPUTY: No, no, no, sunbeam. You're coming with us.”

CEFR level