headlight
Americannoun
-
headlights
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of headlight
Explanation
If you’re driving a car at night, you’re using your car’s headlights to light up the road in front of you. Headlights are the eyes of a car or train, beaming light to help you see what is ahead. The headlight is an important part of an automobile, and without it you could only drive at night where there are lots of street lights. On unlit roads, a deer might jump in front of your car and just stand there — staring into the light from your headlights. That’s where the expression “like a deer in headlights” comes from, and it means being really still after a shock, like you’re frozen in place.
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:
Tucker’s other innovations included a padded dashboard for safety, four-wheel independent suspension and a cyclops-like center headlight that rotated with the steering wheel to improve visibility around corners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Although headlight glare does affect younger people, age is thought to be a factor.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
Additionally, please take good care to notice signage regarding segments of the highway where daytime headlight use is required.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2025
Early this year, Rivian recalled 17,260 vehicles in the U.S. over a headlight issue that could reduce visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025
The same logic works in reverse; if you know how much light a train’s headlight emits, you can measure its apparent brightness and calculate the train’s distance from you.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
KFI asked listeners to turn on their car headlights that day in tribute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Hundreds spent the night in shelters in Chiba, NHK reported, showing cars in water up to the headlights in Kashiwa city.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Tesla’s cameras can see jaywalkers before I do, oncoming headlights don’t blind it, and the car reacts faster than I can.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Even if the visible damage is limited to the hood, radiator and front bumper, there may be damage to other parts, including the cooling system, headlights, sensors and other important elements.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
All they could see were headlights and glimpses of angry motorists.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
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.
