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Lucifer

American  
[loo-suh-fer] / ˈlu sə fər /

noun

  1. a proud, rebellious archangel, identified with Satan, who fell from heaven.

  2. the planet Venus when appearing as the morning star.

  3. (lowercase) friction match.

Lucifer 1 British  
/ ˈluːsɪfə /

noun

  1. the leader of the rebellion of the angels: usually identified with Satan

  2. the planet Venus when it rises as the morning star

"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
lucifer 2 British  
/ ˈluːsɪfə /

noun

  1. a friction match: originally a trade name for a match manufactured in England in the 19th century

"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
Lucifer 1 Cultural  

  1. Another name for Satan.

Lucifer 2 Cultural  

  1. A name, traditional in Christianity, for the leader of the devils, an angel who was cast from heaven into hell because he rebelled against God. Lucifer is usually identified with Satan. The name Lucifer, which means “bearer of light” or “morning star,” refers to his former splendor as the greatest of the angels.

Etymology

Origin of Lucifer

before 1000; Middle English, Old English < Latin: morning star, literally, light-bringing, equivalent to lūci- (stem of lūx ) light + -fer -fer

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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.

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

He had the word Lucifer tattooed on his chest.

From New York Times • May 24, 2023

Members say they don't actually believe in a literal Lucifer or Hell.

From BBC • May 19, 2023

Added bonus: the statuesque Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2022

Mr. Stonecrop held the paper out with both hands, mumbled a moment until he found the right place, and then began to sputter as though great Lucifer himself had provoked him.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

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.