a proud, rebellious archangel, identified with Satan, who fell from heaven.
the planet Venus when appearing as the morning star.
(lowercase) friction match.
the leader of the rebellion of the angels: usually identified with Satan
the planet Venus when it rises as the morning star
before 1000; Middle English, Old English < Latin: morning star, literally, light-bringing, equivalent to lūci- (stem of lūx ) light + -fer -fer
How does lucifer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No wonder Dante, the Florence-born author of the “Divine Comedy,” consigned counterfeiters to the eighth circle of hell, “just one rung higher than Lucifer in the ninth.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
The study's lead scientist said she was inspired to use the name Lucifer as she was watching the Netflix show of the same name at the time.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
Lucifer seemed likely to trounce broody hero Dream initially — until he asked, “What kills hope?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
He had the word Lucifer tattooed on his chest.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2023
Ceyx, a king in Thessaly, was the son of Lucifer, the light-bearer, the star that brings in the day, and all his father’s bright gladness was in his face.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
When that wind blew, the simplest of devices—from lucifer matches to lantern-slides—would no longer function.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
Thus the lucifer saves nearly eighty hours annually, which, to the workman, would mean an addition of nearly eight working days to the year.
From Bygones Worth Remembering, Vol. 2 (of 2) by Holyoake, George Jacob
Directions for making these luminous phials are very simple, and may be found in most of the books of experiments published prior to the introduction of the modern lucifer match.
From The Seven Follies of Science [2nd ed.] A popular account of the most famous scientific impossibilities and the attempts which have been made to solve them. by Phin, John
"There's one of the things you are so pleased with--a lucifer!"
From The Great House by Weyman, Stanley John
Besides these there were coils of wire and cord, balls of string, and several boxes of safety and lucifer matches.
From Bevis The Story of a Boy by Jefferies, Richard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
