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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

sunbeam

/ˈsʌnˌbim/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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What does sunbeam mean?

noun

  1. A ray of sunlight; especially, a demarcated, narrow, and intense (relative to ambient light) ray of sunlight (as revealed by, for example, its diffraction among dust particles).
  2. Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Curetis.
  3. Any hummingbird of the genus Aglaeactis.
More meanings (5)

noun

  1. Synonym of sunshine (“ironic form of address to an inferior or troublemaker”).
  2. (dated) 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.

proper noun

  1. An unincorporated community in Moffat County, Colorado, United States.
  2. An unincorporated community in Mercer County, Illinois, United States.
  3. An unincorporated community in Logan County, West Virginia, United States.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈsʌnˌbim/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

And Summer, giving her the sunbeam, passed away over the distant hills, leaving all green and bright behind her.
Louisa May AlcottFlower FablesProject Gutenberg ebook #163
As when a bright sunbeam turns a dark cloud to silver, so Chloe’s dark face brightened immediately,—it really shone.
Harriet Beecher StoweUncle Tom's CabinProject Gutenberg ebook #203
More book examples (3)
The home would be lonely without the boy who was so full of fun and as bright as a sunbeam.
Amy SteedmanKnights of Art: Stories of the Italian PaintersProject Gutenberg ebook #529
Gone, disappeared, extinguished, carried off without leaving a single gold band or the flash of a single sunbeam in the evening sky!
Joseph ConradThe Mirror of the SeaProject Gutenberg ebook #1058
He is the squirrel of squirrels, flashing from branch to branch of his favorite evergreens, crisp and glossy and sound as a sunbeam.
John MuirSteep TrailsProject Gutenberg ebook #326