headlight

[ hed-lahyt ]
See synonyms for headlight on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a light or lamp, usually equipped with a reflector, on the front of an automobile, locomotive, etc.

Origin of headlight

1
An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; head + light1

Words Nearby headlight

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

How to use headlight in a sentence

  • As he drove through the headlight-broken darkness now, other cars passed him bringing other men home from other jobs.

  • So if you are stopped for jaywalking or driving with a broken headlight, the police can ask to see your papers.

  • Away off to the southwest a bright light showed briefly—the headlight of a Santa Fe train, he guessed it must be.

    Cabin Fever | B. M. Bower
  • One of the men stood on the track waving the red lantern; we could see him plainly in the glare of the headlight.

    The Wreckers | Francis Lynde
  • Close below the headlight was a moving shadow they finally made out as company men, they could not tell how many.

    Mountain | Clement Wood
  • As the train rolled up, the headlight flashing far down the track and the steam hissing from the engine, I turned weak all over.

    Sixes and Sevens | O. Henry
  • The pilot doubled back into the ponies, and the headlight was scoured with nut, pea, and slack; but the stack was hardly bruised.

    The Nerve of Foley | Frank H. Spearman

British Dictionary definitions for headlight

headlight

headlamp

/ (ˈhɛdˌlaɪt) /


noun
  1. a powerful light, equipped with a reflector and attached to the front of a motor vehicle, locomotive, etc: See also quartz-iodine lamp

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