She was beckoning them in to shore. She beckoned the waiter to come over. She beckoned to the waiter to come over. From the time he was a child, the wilderness beckoned to him. The nature preserve beckons bird-watchers, who visit from around the world.
Recent Examples on the WebWhen supposedly shocking messages and images are so common, cynicism can beckon. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2022 On Ukraine’s battlefields, the simple act of powering up a cellphone can beckon a rain of deathly skyfall. Oleksandr Stashevskyi And Frank Bajak, Anchorage Daily News, 3 June 2022 People might beckon you to come and join up for some group fun, but your own agenda could get in the way.Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2022 Even without candies to beckon them, some of the riders will still guide their mounts to the rail, especially for kiddos (but also for adults as excited as children). Dana Mcmahan, The Courier-Journal, 26 Apr. 2022 The chain cemented a place in American culture with its Blue Light Specials, a flashing blue orb affixed to a pole that would beckon shoppers to a flash sale in progress.CBS News, 12 Apr. 2022 The chain cemented a place in American culture with its Blue Light Specials, a flashing blue orb affixed to a pole that would beckon shoppers to a flash sale in progress.NBC News, 12 Apr. 2022 The chain cemented a place in American culture with its Blue Light Specials, a flashing blue orb affixed to a pole that would beckon shoppers to a flash sale in progress. David Porter, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Apr. 2022 The chain cemented a place in American culture with its Blue Light Specials, a flashing blue orb affixed to a pole that would beckon shoppers to a flash sale in progress.NBC News, 12 Apr. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English bekenen, bikenen, becknien, becknyn, going back to Old English bēcnan, bīcnan, bīcnian, bēacnian "to make a mute gesture to, summon, symbolize, portend, reveal," going back to West Germanic *bauhnjan- or *bauhnōjan- (whence also Old Saxon bōknian "to portend, give as a token," Old High German bouhhanen, bouhnen "to give a sign or token, signify"), weak verb derivatives of *baukn- "sign, signal" — more at beacon entry 1