# sunbeam

> English word · Noun · frequency rank #44,517

## 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. Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Curetis.
3. Any hummingbird of the genus Aglaeactis.
4. Synonym of sunshine (“ironic form of address to an inferior or troublemaker”).
5. 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.

## Etymology
From Middle English sonnebeem, sonne beem, from Old English sunnbēam, sunnebēam (“sunbeam”), equivalent to sun + beam.

## Common misspellings (10)
`snubeam`, `ssunbeam`, `subneam`, `sunbaem`, `sunbbeam`, `sunbeamm`, `sunbema`, `sunebam`, `sunnbeam`, `usnbeam`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sunbeam