backlit
Americanadjective
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illuminated from behind.
The space probe was able to capture backlit images of Saturn’s rings from the far side of its moons.
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Electronics. (of a flat-panel screen) illuminated by a backlight; able to show an image, even in low light, because a light source is projected behind the screen, creating a contrast for the user.
Backlit screens on phones and tablets have been shown to disrupt sleep patterns when used at bedtime.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of backlit
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.
Wright’s English subjects are, like his contemporary Edward Gibbon’s Romans, backlit by a skepticism whose coherence derives from the Enlightenment confidence in objective reason.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026
Many of the lavish amenities sit on the terrace level of the home, which holds a backlit onyx bar and a full second kitchen.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 14, 2025
In another photo, Lil Nas X posed in front of a backlit mirror in a gold gown, white cowboy boots and a tiara.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 25, 2025
Even the bathrooms are opulent in that uncanny, chain-restaurant way: part suburban shopping plaza, part Ancient Egyptian bathhouse, all backlit marble and echoing tile.
From Salon • May 19, 2025
She then enlisted my father—the family’s resident artist—to paint a series of orange flames on pieces of very thin rice paper, which, when backlit with a lightbulb, made for a half-convincing fire.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
