black light
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of black light
First recorded in 1925–30
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.
“It opened with a subway shot and when the screen went dark, she had a black light that showed up all the graffiti and I was like, ‘Who is this?
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2025
When they shine a black light on the coral, organic compounds in the coral cause it to fluoresce.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2024
The camera lingers on their enraptured visages, allowing their furtive looks to bloom under the neon glow of a clubbing black light or the soft touch of the sun as they lounge in a park.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
The term “uranium glass” generally describes glass with uranium oxide, which glows under a black light.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 11, 2022
I walk into the closet, where the black light has been replaced by a regular old bulb.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
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.
