Lift beams, so to speak (5)
I believe the answer is:
raise
'lift' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'beams so to speak' is the wordplay.
'beams' becomes 'rays' (rays of light).
'so to speak' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'rays' is a homophone of 'RAISE'.
(Other definitions for raise that I've seen before include "More money from America" , "Uplift" , "Bring up - an increase in pay" , "Collect - increase in pay" , "What a poker player might do" .)