Bacon vs. Beacon — What's the Difference?

A source of protein.

A guiding or warning signal.

Salt-cured pork.

Can be a fire or light.

A food item often eaten at breakfast.

A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port.

Sometimes smoked for added flavor.

A signal fire, especially one used to warn of an enemy's approach.

Can be made from different cuts of pork.

A signaling or guiding device that emits light, such as a lighthouse.

Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically from the pork belly or from the less fatty back cuts. It is eaten on its own, as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), or used as a minor ingredient to flavour dishes (e.g., the club sandwich).

A radio transmitter that emits a characteristic guidance signal for aircraft.

The salted and smoked meat from the back and sides of a pig.

A signaling device that emits a repeating sound; a pinger.

Cured meat from the sides, belly, or back of a pig.

A source of guidance or inspiration

Thin slices of the above in long strips.

To provide with or signal as a beacon.

The police or spies.

A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.

Road rash.

(nautical) A signal or conspicuous mark erected on an eminence near the shore, or moored in shoal water, as a guide to mariners.

A saucisse.

A post or buoy placed over a shoal or bank to warn vessels of danger; also a signal mark on land. (FM 55-501)

The back and sides of a pig salted and smoked; formerly, the flesh of a pig salted or fresh.

A high hill or other easily distinguishable object near the shore which can serve as guidance for seafarers.

Roger Bacon. A celebrated English philosopher of the thirteenth century. Born at or near Ilchester, Somersetshire, about 1214: died probably at Oxford in 1294. He is credited with a recognition of the importance of experiment in answering questions about the natural world, recognized the potential importance of gunpowder and explosives generally, and wrote comments about several of the physical sciences that anticipated facts proven by experiment only much later.

(figurative) That which gives notice of danger, or keeps people on the correct path.

Francis Bacon. A celebrated English philosopher, jurist, and statesman, son of Sir Nicholas Bacon. Born at York House, London, Jan. 22, 1561: died at Highgate, April 9, 1626, created Baron Verulam July 12, 1618, and Viscount St. Albans Jan. 27, 1621: commonly, but incorrectly, called Lord Bacon. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, April, 1573, to March, 1575, and at Gray's Inn 1575; became attached to the embassy of Sir Amias Paulet in France in 1576; was admitted to the bar in 1582; entered Parliament in 1584; was knighted in 1603; became solicitor-general in 1607, and attorney-general in 1613; was made a privy councilor in 1616, lord keeper in 1617, and lord chancellor in 1618; and was tried in 1621 for bribery, condemned, fined, and removed from office. A notable incident of his career was his connection with the Earl of Essex, which began in July, 1591, remained an intimate friendship until the fall of Essex (1600-01), and ended in Bacon's active efforts to secure the conviction of the earl for treason. (See Essex.) His great fame rests upon his services as a reformer of the methods of scientific investigation; and though his relation to the progress of knowledge has been exaggerated and misunderstood, his reputation as one of the chief founders of modern inductive science is well grounded. His chief works are the "Advancement of Learning," published in English as "The Two Books of Francis Bacon of the Proficience and Advancement of Learning Divine and Human," in 1605; the "Novum organum sive indicia vera de interpretatione naturae," published in Latin, 1620, as a "second part" of the (incomplete) "Instauratio magna"; the "De dignitate et augmentis scientiarum," published in Latin in 1623; "Historia Ventorum" (1622), "Historia Vitae et Mortis" (1623), "Historia Densi et Rari" (posthumously, 1658), "Sylva Sylvarum" (posthumously, 1627), "New Atlantis," "Essays" (1597, 1612, 1625), "De Sapientia Veterum" (1609), "Apothegms New and Old," "History of Henry VII." (1622). Works edited by Ellis, Spedding, and Heath (7 vols. 1857); Life by Spedding (7 vols. 1861, 2 vols. 1878). See Shakspere.

An electronic device that broadcasts a signal to nearby portable devices, enabling smartphones etc. to perform actions when in physical proximity to the beacon.

Back and sides of a hog salted and dried or smoked; usually sliced thin and fried

(internet) web beacon

English scientist and Franciscan monk who stressed the importance of experimentation; first showed that air is required for combustion and first used lenses to correct vision (1220-1292)

(intransitive) To act as a beacon.

English statesman and philosopher; precursor of British empiricism; advocated inductive reasoning (1561-1626)

(transitive) To give light to, as a beacon; to light up; to illumine.

(transitive) To furnish with a beacon or beacons.

A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.

A signal, such as that from a lighthouse, or a conspicuous mark erected on an eminence near the shore, or moored in shoal water, as a guide to mariners.

A high hill near the shore.

That which gives notice of danger.

A radio transmitter which emits a characteristic signal indication its location, so that vehicles may determine their exact location by locating the beacon with a radio compass; - also called radio beacon.

That which provides guidance or inspiration; the Constitution has been a beacon for civil rights activists.

To give light to, as a beacon; to light up; to illumine.

To furnish with a beacon or beacons.

A fire (usually on a hill or tower) that can be seen from a distance

A radio station that broadcasts a directional signal for navigational purposes

A tower with a light that gives warning of shoals to passing ships

Shine like a beacon

Guide with a beacon

Used for navigation.

Symbolizes guidance or hope.

Used in technology for location-based services.

No, a beacon is not edible, unlike bacon.

A beacon provides guidance or signals, especially in navigation.

Bacon is savory and pairs well with many breakfast foods.

Yes, bacon can be used in sweet dishes like bacon maple donuts.

Traditionally, yes, but there are alternatives like turkey bacon.

No, bacon is a food, and beacon is a signaling device.

No, beacon is related to signaling, not food.

Beacons can be powered by electricity, batteries, or other energy sources.

Yes, "beacon of hope" is a common metaphorical use.

Yes, beacons are used in tech for location-based services.

Bacon should be refrigerated and used within its expiration date.