alight
1to dismount from a horse, descend from a vehicle, etc.
to settle or stay after descending: The bird alighted on the tree.
to encounter or notice something accidentally.
Origin of alight
1Other definitions for alight (2 of 2)
provided with light; lighted up.
on fire; burning.
Origin of alight
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use alight in a sentence
Jacobsen traces the obsession back to the Pentagon, where senior officials had alighted on a new strategy to win the stalemated war.
An unusual mission in Afghanistan, and the troops who suffered to carry it out | Greg Jaffe | January 15, 2021 | Washington PostThe Capitol building — then much smaller and lacking its current dome, was also set alight.
Political extremists have attacked the U.S. Capitol before: A history of the violence | Gillian Brockell | January 7, 2021 | Washington PostThe boosters were jettisoned, and the remainder of the rocket continued its climb into the deepest possible night, the Earth blue and alight behind it, an impossible blackness ahead.
My satellite would fit in a small suitcase. | Katie McLean | December 18, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewOften, a pair of pigeons alight on nearby rooftops, their cooing a gentle nudge that a larger world still exists beyond our fraught lives.
A concise guide to birding in your own backyard | Erin E. Williams | December 11, 2020 | Washington PostMeanwhile, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell is reportedly considering setting alight some of the Comcast-owned conglomerate’s cable TV networks as he reorients the Peacock parent around streaming.
‘Burn the boats’: TV networks playing with fire in streaming pivots | Tim Peterson | December 9, 2020 | Digiday
Police responded and a check of the Goldman Sachs surveillance cameras showed three parachutists alighting on the pavement.
Hero or Criminal? James Brady, the WTC Ironworker Who Jumped Off the Building | Michael Daly | March 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTKalman has a way of alighting on a moment in history, and animating it with personal details, both true and imagined.
Alighting from Pyne's car at the door, they went up to the flat of the organizer of the opium party—Mr. Cyrus Kilfane.
Dope | Sax Rohmer"But I must see her," Eloise said, alighting first and brushing past him, while he stood open-mouthed with surprise.
The Cromptons | Mary J. HolmesHe felt as Columbus felt when he saw the land bird alighting upon his ship and the driftwood floating by.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge | VariousOn alighting from his elephant a salute of twenty-one guns will be fired by the horse artillery.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. | E. Farr and E. H. NolanOn alighting on the island they emptied their pouches on the sand—too often, I must confess, solely for my benefit.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont | Louis de Rougemont
British Dictionary definitions for alight (1 of 2)
/ (əˈlaɪt) /
(usually foll by from) to step out (of) or get down (from): to alight from a taxi
to come to rest; settle; land: a thrush alighted on the wall
Origin of alight
1British Dictionary definitions for alight (2 of 2)
/ (əˈlaɪt) /
burning; on fire
illuminated; lit up
Origin of alight
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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