noun
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a device, consisting of a light source and a reflecting surface behind it, that projects a powerful beam of light in a particular direction
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the beam of light produced by such a device
Etymology
Origin of searchlight
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For months, they’ve been signaling as if with a searchlight how much they covet the 6-foot-11 Greek forward.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
At night, the crew trained a searchlight across the dark waters to look for growlers—low-floating chunks of ice big enough to puncture a ship.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025
The task is a bit like discerning a field of fireflies around a central, massive searchlight.
From Science Daily • May 6, 2024
Using sound like a searchlight, they patrol the chilly depths.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 19, 2023
Comrade Pillai’s smile broadened as he turned all his attention like a searchlight on Rahel.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
