headlight

[hed-lahyt]

See more synonyms for headlight on Thesaurus.com

noun

a light or lamp, usually equipped with a reflector, on the front of an automobile, locomotive, etc.

Origin of headlight

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for headlights

Contemporary Examples

The streets are unlit; the drivers are blind to anything more than a few inches beyond their headlights.
A Shooting on a Tribal Land Uncovers Feds Running Wild
Caitlin Dickson
August 26, 2014
My headlights caught a lonely figure under the elevated train tracks.
Real Life Lazarus: When Patients Rise From the Dead
Sandeep Jauhar
August 21, 2014
When the headlights of the car in which Kumar travels lights up one such abode he feels immediately guilty.
The Real India Revealed
Rafia Zakaria
August 6, 2014
In the distance, hugging a T-wall, two Humvees idled door-to-door with their headlights on.
How the Dead Come Home From Afghanistan
Nick Willard
May 9, 2014
Doctorow famously said that writing a novel is like driving at night—you can see about as far as your headlights shine.
How I Write: Scott Spencer
Noah Charney
March 13, 2014

Historical Examples

They were following a kind of road when headlights bore down on them.
Police Your Planet
Lester del Rey
Then Nuwell switched on the headlights and they went on again.
Rebels of the Red Planet
Charles Louis Fontenay
Asabri drove toward Rome, his headlights piercing the darkness.
IT and Other Stories
Gouverneur Morris
Muldoon's figure was outlined in the glow of the headlights.
Lease to Doomsday
Lee Archer
Tires crunched on the gravel then, and headlights washed the darkness from the drive.
Star Mother
Robert F. Young

British Dictionary definitions for headlights

headlight

headlamp

noun

a powerful light, equipped with a reflector and attached to the front of a motor vehicle, locomotive, etcSee 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

Word Origin and History for headlights

headlight

n.

1861, originally of ships and locomotives, from head (n.) + light (n.). Related: Headlights, which, as slang for "a woman's breasts," is from 1940s.

headlight

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}headlight

Examples from the Web for headlights

Contemporary Examples

The streets are unlit; the drivers are blind to anything more than a few inches beyond their headlights.

My headlights caught a lonely figure under the elevated train tracks.

When the headlights of the car in which Kumar travels lights up one such abode he feels immediately guilty.

In the distance, hugging a T-wall, two Humvees idled door-to-door with their headlights on.

Doctorow famously said that writing a novel is like driving at night—you can see about as far as your headlights shine.

Historical Examples

They were following a kind of road when headlights bore down on them.

Then Nuwell switched on the headlights and they went on again.

Asabri drove toward Rome, his headlights piercing the darkness.

Muldoon's figure was outlined in the glow of the headlights.

Tires crunched on the gravel then, and headlights washed the darkness from the drive.

headlight

headlamp

Word Origin and History for headlights

headlight

n.

Origin of headlight