light up


verb(adverb)
  1. to light a cigarette, pipe, etc

  2. to illuminate or cause to illuminate

  1. to make or become cheerful or animated

Words Nearby light up

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use light up in a sentence

  • The sunrays grew whiter and stronger to light up the great rugged stage of Nature.

    Menotah | Ernest G. Henham
  • She saw his eyes light up with eager pleasure as he placed the flowers close to his pillow, and inhaled their spicy fragrance.

    They Looked and Loved | Mrs. Alex McVeigh Miller
  • But it has one advantage: if we don't get home before dark we shan't need to light up.

    Red Pepper Burns | Grace S. Richmond
  • But if you have a cigar-case about you, light up, like a good fellow.

    My New Curate | P.A. Sheehan
  • I light up a cigar and looking at nothing, behold everything.

    Marguerite | Anatole France

Other Idioms and Phrases with light up

light up

Become or cause to become more animated or cheerful, as in Her laughter lit up the whole room, or His face lit up when he saw her. This expression transfers physical illumination to human moods. Also see lighten up. [Mid-1700s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.