A beam or a beam ( two words ) means one ( a ) square piece of wood or metal, used in construction ( beam ) --
He was knocked off the building by a beam the workers were moving.
You'll need a beam the right size to replace this one.
A beam may also mean one ( a ) ray or shaft, as of light ( beam ) --
A beam of light comes through the shade, very early in the morning.
The cat will chase a beam of light for hours.
Abeam or abeam ( one word ) means at a right angle to the length of a ship or plane --
There is a ship abeam of us, but I can't identify it.
The ship was abeam of the dock, and couldn't get closer.
Now that you know that, you can say--
"The ship lay abeam of us, flashing a beam of light to signal for help."
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