Lights or signals that shine brightly to guide ships, planes, or people, or serve as a warning or sign of something important.
From Old English 'beacn,' originally meaning a sign or portent. It evolved to mean specifically a guiding light, with the modern sense developing in seafaring contexts.
Lighthouses were humanity's first technology for cheating darkness at scale—before radio or GPS, a single beacon could save hundreds of lives in a storm, making it one of our oldest lifesaving inventions.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.