bright
adjective
radiating or reflecting light; luminous; shining.
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bright
1 American
[brahyt]
/ braɪt /
adjective
-
brighter,
comparative
-
brightest
superlative
-
radiating or reflecting light; luminous; shining.
The bright coins shone in the gloom.
-
filled with light.
The room was bright with sunshine.
-
vivid or brilliant.
a bright red dress;
bright passages of prose.
-
quick-witted or intelligent.
They gave promotions to bright employees.
- Synonyms:
- clever, ingenious, sharp-witted, sharp, discerning, keen
-
clever or witty, as a remark.
Bright comments enlivened the conversation.
-
animated; lively; cheerful.
a bright and happy child;
a bird's bright song.
-
characterized by happiness or gladness.
All the world seems bright and gay.
-
favorable or auspicious.
bright prospects for the future.
- Synonyms:
- promising
-
radiant or splendid.
the bright pageantry of court.
-
illustrious or glorious, as an era.
the bright days of the Renaissance.
-
clear or translucent, as liquid.
The bright water trickled through his fingers.
-
having a glossy, glazed, or polished finish.
-
intensely clear and vibrant in tone or quality; clear and sharp in sound.
a bright singing voice.
noun
-
brights,
-
the automobile or truck headlights used for driving at night or under conditions of decreased visibility.
-
the brighter level of intensity of these lights, usually deflected upward by switching on a bulb in the headlamp that strikes the lens at a different angle.
-
-
flue-cured, light-hued tobacco.
-
an artist's paintbrush having short, square-edged bristles.
-
Archaic. brightness; splendor.
adverb
brighter,
brightest
Bright
2
American
[brahyt]
/ braɪt /
noun
-
John, 1811–89, British statesman and economist.
-
Richard, 1789–1858, English physician.
bright
1
British
/ braɪt /
adjective
-
emitting or reflecting much light; shining
-
(of colours) intense or vivid
-
full of promise
a bright future
-
full of animation; cheerful
a bright face
-
informal quick witted or clever
a bright child
-
magnificent; glorious
a bright victory
-
polished; glistening
a bright finish
-
(of the voice) distinct and clear
-
(of a liquid) translucent and clear
a circle of bright water
-
very early in the morning
noun
-
a thin flat paintbrush with a straight sharp edge used for highlighting in oil painting
-
poetic brightness or splendour
the bright of his armour
adverb
Bright
2
British
/ braɪt /
noun
bright
Idioms
Synonym Usage
Bright, brilliant, radiant, shining refer to that which gives forth, is filled with, or reflects light. Bright suggests the general idea: bright flare, stars, mirror. Brilliant implies a strong, unusual, or sparkling brightness, often changeful or varied and too strong to be agreeable: brilliant sunlight. Radiant implies the pouring forth of steady rays of light, especially as are agreeable to the eyes: a radiant face. Shining implies giving forth or reflecting a strong or steady light: shining eyes.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
overbrightnessnoun
-
unbrightnessnoun
-
brightishadjective
-
overbrightadjective
-
superbrightadjective
-
unbrightadjective
-
brightlyadverb
-
overbrightlyadverb
-
unbrightlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of bright
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English breht, beorht; cognate with Gothic bairht(s), Old Saxon ber(a)ht, Old High German beraht, Old Norse bjartr; Welsh berth “splendid”; akin to Latin flagrāre “to blaze” ( see flagrant ( def. )), Albanian bardhë “white,” Sanskrit bhrājate “it shines”
Explanation
After a long, gray winter, it's hard to remember what a bright, sunny day is like. Bright means shining with light. The adjective bright is good for describing anything that emits, reflects, or is full of light — like the bright moon, the bright sky or the bright, well-lit room. Bright can also mean vivid or vibrant — such as a bright purple three-piece suit. More figuratively, bright means "full of hope or possibility" — like your bright future as a marine biologist.
Vocabulary lists containing bright
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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.
See Examples For:
These can include bright orange flashes or bold white and black patterns on the thighs and lower back.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
Sunday may start dry and bright for many, perhaps with some mist and fog patches in central and northern areas of the UK.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
I lay on my back and stared at a bright blue painted sky, dappled with puffy clouds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
The only bright spot is a stock market bubble largely due to speculation in artificial intelligence, but that’s precarious and largely irrelevant to ordinary people.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
It was a bright September noon when seventeen of us were squeezed around the dining room table.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Stephen Bright: I was in Atlanta with an organization called the Southern Center for Human Rights.
From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026
“I have to find another option,” she said, pointing to Bright Horizons in Westwood as one of the only nearby choices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Bright white flags of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have been installed this week across the capital Kabul, where new murals declare: "Independence is a sign of dignity, pride and identity".
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
"I will miss my friends and colleagues hugely, but I am looking forward to my next chapter and spending more time with my wonderful boys," Bright said, referring to her husband and three sons.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
"Bright Dawn will train the dogs for me," my father said.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
"The fact that we can still discover a nearby companion, more massive and brighter than the Sun, around such a well-studied star is remarkable," says Montargès.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
A zone of wet weather will move eastwards across England and Wales on Saturday, although drier and brighter conditions may spread from the west later.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
But Parton’s golden charisma shone ever brighter over the 218 episodes she appeared in until her departure in 1974.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
“People’s desire to see and explore the world is bigger and brighter than ever,” said Scott Kirby, United’s chief executive, at an event in Newark, N.J.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Nicole’s headlamp did seem to be getting bigger, or at least brighter.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
Growing up in Berlin, he collected academic awards and distinguished himself as one of the country’s brightest young scientific minds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
"If a galaxy were a city, the brightest stars would be the skyscrapers that immediately catch your eye from afar," said lead author Chloe Cheng, a recent doctoral graduate of Leiden University.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
Replicating those numbers is unlikely but the Greek international has looked one of the brightest players during pre-season.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
At the time of signing that contract, Leicester described him as "one of the brightest talents in our system".
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
McNaughton knew Ellsberg’s reputation as one of the brightest young thinkers in the field of crisis decision making.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
