dark lantern


noun
  1. a lantern having an opening with a shutter that can be slid across the opening to obscure the light.

Origin of dark lantern

1
First recorded in 1640–50

Words Nearby dark lantern

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dark lantern in a sentence

  • The reek of hot tin from the dark lantern grew worse momentarily.

    The Gold Bat | P. G. Wodehouse
  • It was a dark lantern, flashing light before it, itself all in shadow.

    Ernest Linwood | Caroline Lee Hentz
  • Hank had a dark lantern—all of Denny's belongings he'd left with us—and he flashed it on the chap by the car.

    Motor Matt's Mystery | Stanley R. Matthews
  • Peering through the keyhole, he saw a man with a dark lantern putting the family plate into a bag.

  • Then the slide of a dark lantern was opened by some one, and in the big strong patch of light it threw we saw Shadow.

    Shadow, the Mysterious Detective | Police Captain Howard

British Dictionary definitions for dark lantern

dark lantern

noun
  1. a lantern having a sliding shutter or panel to dim or hide the light

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012