alight
1to dismount from a horse, descend from a vehicle, etc.
to settle or stay after descending: The bird alighted on the tree.
to encounter or notice something accidentally.
Origin of alight
1Words Nearby alight
Other definitions for alight (2 of 2)
provided with light; lighted up.
on fire; burning.
Origin of alight
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use alight in a sentence
I’ll fantasize about setting colonial summerhouses alight using dendrites & neurons.
Five poems about the mind | Cynthia Miller, Paula Bohince, Anthony Anaxagorou, Tishani Doshi, Zeina Hashem Beck | August 25, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewTitmice have been spotted dive-bombing cats, alighting on dozing predators’ backs and plucking strands of hair from people’s heads.
Scientists have a new word for birds stealing animal hair | Jaime Chambers | August 12, 2021 | Science NewsEvery few days, he would commute down the highway from his sleepy coastal town of Castelldefels, set Europe’s biggest stadium alight, then drive home to his wife and three sons.
Lionel Messi Made Barcelona One of the Most Successful Soccer Teams in History. Now He Might Destroy It | Simon Kuper | August 11, 2021 | TimeFall visitors to South Walton often land another treat, too, as swarms of Monarch butterflies alight in parks and beachside neighborhoods starting in late September.
As they alight briefly, the eyes acquire the image of a group of letters roughly equal to one word and then immediately jump farther along, pausing to sample another word or two.
The English Professor Who Foresaw Modern Neuroscience - Issue 100: Outsiders | Christopher Comer & Ashley Taggart | May 19, 2021 | Nautilus
The grapevine and the international media were alight with the buzz of the student killed by the police during the demonstration.
Who was that lithe, bendable gymnast setting alight the Olympic flame?
All the men were shot, their bodies set alight—often before they expired.
There Should Be No Statute of Limitations on Prosecuting War Crimes | Michael Moynihan | January 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn the last five years, a dozen camps have been set alight across the country.
Roma Face Persecution Across Europe In New Baby Stealing Panic | Tom Sykes, Barbie Latza Nadeau | October 24, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe words at the bottom summarized what kept that hope alight.
“With pleasure, my dear fellow,” said the major puffing vigorously for a few moments to get his pipe well alight.
Hunting the Lions | R.M. BallantyneThe sky was alight from zenith to horizon, the Nile aflame with sunrise, by the time the letter was written.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodHis eyes alight with hope, he ran out, leaving the door open so that his conversation was again audible to the visitor.
Dope | Sax RohmerMiss Jewett was speaking in her brisk, working voice; the troubled face had become alight.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. DrinkwaterIn addition to their huts of leaves, they had erected a small temple, where they invited us to alight.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
British Dictionary definitions for alight (1 of 2)
/ (əˈlaɪt) /
(usually foll by from) to step out (of) or get down (from): to alight from a taxi
to come to rest; settle; land: a thrush alighted on the wall
Origin of alight
1British Dictionary definitions for alight (2 of 2)
/ (əˈlaɪt) /
burning; on fire
illuminated; lit up
Origin of alight
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse