sunbeam
noun
sunbeam is spelled S-U-N-B-E-A-M: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sunbeam means “A ray of sunlight; especially, a demarcated, narrow, and intense (relative to ambient light) ray of sunlight (as revealed by, for example, its…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sunbeam is sunbeams.
How many letters and syllables are in sunbeam?
| Letters | 7: S-U-N-B-E-A-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sunbeam?
Sunbeam appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sunbeam?
Sunbeam has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sunbeam.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sunbeam
- sunbeams plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sunbeam mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
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).
Near-synonym: sunshaft (narrow, demarcated)
- 2
Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Curetis.
- 3
Any hummingbird of the genus Aglaeactis.
- 4
UKSynonym of sunshine (“ironic form of address to an inferior or troublemaker”).
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.
- 5
AustraliacolloquialdatedAn item of cutlery or crockery laid out on a table, but not used, and which can be returned to the drawer without being washed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sunbeam in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense narrow, intense ray of sunlight:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rayon de soleil |
| German | Sonnenstrahl |
| Portuguese | raio solar, raio de sol |
| Spanish | rayo de sol |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sunbeam come from?
From Middle English sonnebem, sonnebeem, from Old English sunnbēam, sunnebēam (“sunbeam”), equivalent to sun + beam.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).