limelight
Americannoun
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Theater.
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(formerly) a lighting unit for spotlighting the front of the stage, producing illumination by means of a flame of mixed gases directed at a cylinder of lime and having a special lens for concentrating the light in a strong beam.
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the light so produced.
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Chiefly British. a lighting unit, especially a spotlight.
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the center of public attention, interest, observation, or notoriety.
He seems fond of the limelight.
noun
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a position of public attention or notice (esp in the phrase in the limelight )
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a type of lamp, formerly used in stage lighting, in which light is produced by heating lime to white heat
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Also called: calcium light. brilliant white light produced in this way
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of limelight
Explanation
To be in the limelight is to be at the center of public attention. It might make you a little jealous if your best friend's acting career suddenly puts her in the limelight. When a newly popular musician finds himself in the limelight, he might be surprised at all the attention. Someone who's in the limelight is constantly being talked about, interviewed, and photographed. In the early 1800's, theater stages were lit by heating a cylinder of the mineral called lime — the result was an intensely bright white light. The word limelight came to have its figurative meaning of "at the center of attention" in 1877.
Vocabulary lists containing limelight
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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.
On Wednesday morning, the votes were still being counted, but Pratt looked likely to finish second—good enough for a runoff with Bass and a few more months in the limelight.
From Slate • Jun. 3, 2026
Eckert has not been so fortunate to avoid the limelight.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
I honestly think I see the best side of people who are in the limelight.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
No one hogs the limelight at NASA: When I ask Mr. Kshatriya if he laid the operational groundwork for Ms. Glaze, he says: “Me and 1,000 other people.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
He managed to stay out of the limelight until the morning of Halliday’s death, when his home was besieged by the media.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
