alight
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to dismount from a horse, descend from a vehicle, etc.
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to settle or stay after descending.
The bird alighted on the tree.
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to encounter or notice something accidentally.
adverb
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provided with light; lighted up.
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on fire; burning.
verb
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(usually foll by from) to step out (of) or get down (from)
to alight from a taxi
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to come to rest; settle; land
a thrush alighted on the wall
adjective
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burning; on fire
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illuminated; lit up
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 )
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.
He flew straight up, using his claws as a guide, before alighting on the very, very top, away from even the other birds, who included Pelicarnassus.
From Literature
The face the London tube driver's gaze alighted on looked uncannily like his own.
From BBC
As part of the investigation into what happened at The Station nightclub, experts from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology built a laboratory version of the club and set it alight.
From BBC
She had headed off to the right when we alighted from the train depot, while I had turned to the left.
From Literature
They alight in a waterlogged Liverpool and discover the broken social factions that have cropped up in the wake of environmental collapse.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
