Erect beams we hear (5)
I believe the answer is:
raise
'erect' is the definition.
(I know that erect can be written as raise)
'beams we hear' is the wordplay.
'beams' becomes 'rays' (rays of light).
'we hear' shows a homophone (sound like).
'rays' sounds like 'RAISE'.
(Other definitions for raise that I've seen before include "Collect - increase in pay" , "Advance" , "Wage increase" , "To promote" , "Gather" .)