# beam search

CEFR C1 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/beam-search
Updated: 2026-09-28

## Definition

a search method that keeps track of several promising paths at once to find the best complete sequence.

For teachers: a heuristic graph search algorithm that explores a decision tree by expanding only a predetermined number (beam width) of most promising candidate sequences at each step.

## Examples

- The translation program used beam search to find the most natural English sentence.
- Speech recognition software relies on beam search to explore competing phonetic interpretations simultaneously.
- While beam search optimizes cumulative probability effectively, it frequently suffers from repetitive degeneration when applied to open-ended creative generation.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.