alight

¹ American  

[uh-lahyt] / əˈlaɪt /

verb (used without object)

alighted, alit, alighting

1. to dismount from a horse, descend from a vehicle, etc.

2. to settle or stay after descending.

   The bird alighted on the tree.

3. to encounter or notice something accidentally.

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alight ² American  

[uh-lahyt] / əˈlaɪt /

adverb

1. provided with light; lighted up.

2. on fire; burning.

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alight ¹ British  

/ əˈlaɪt /

verb

1. (usually foll by from) to step out (of) or get down (from)

   to alight from a taxi

2. to come to rest; settle; land

   a thrush alighted on the wall

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alight ² British  

/ əˈlaɪt /

adjective

1. burning; on fire

2. illuminated; lit up

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Etymology

Origin of alight¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English alighten, Old English ālīhtan; equivalent to a- ³ + light ³ )

Origin of alight²

First recorded before 1000; originally past participle of alight “to light up,” Middle English alihten, Old English onlīhtan, equivalent to a- ¹ + light ¹ )

Explanation

The word alight has two distinct meanings: it can mean coming down or settling in a delicate manner, such as a bird perching, or it can be a rather poetic way to describe something that’s on fire (or “afire”). Just as the word alight has two distinct grammatical forms and meanings, it has two distinct beginnings in the Old English. That period’s word ālīhtan had an original meaning of dismounting, or lightening the load on the horse, and so is the ancestor of the verb we use today that means "to settle or perch." Meanwhile, the word onlīhtan (see the different spelling?) of that same time meant to be on fire, which became our adjectival use of the word.

Example Sentences

Hazardous waste -- often from Italy's wealthy north -- has long been set alight or buried in the area around Acerra, a city near Naples, in the southern region of Campania.

From Barron's • May 23, 2026

“The big question mark for me is what’s going to happen in Asia,” she says, adding that what would really set the stocks alight would be a recovery in Chinese travel numbers.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

“And no matter what you find that will set your heart alight, you will find it here.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

It's not clear why 120 years later the material set alight.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026

Tally pulled out her binoculars and trained them inward, toward New Pretty Town, where the party towers were just coming alight.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Related Words

• descend
• disembark
• get off
• perch
• touch down