highlighter

American  

[hahy-lahy-ter] / ˈhaɪˌlaɪ tər /

noun

highlighters plural

1. a felt-tip pen with a wide nib for highlighting passages of printed material in a soft, transparent color.

2. a cosmetic powder or cream applied to the face in places where light would naturally hit, as the cheeks, forehead, chin, and center of the nose, to create a glowing effect.

---

highlighter British  

/ ˈhaɪˌlaɪtə /

noun

1. a cosmetic cream or powder applied to the face to highlight the cheekbones, eyes, etc

2. a fluorescent felt-tip pen used as a marker to emphasize a section of text without obscuring it

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• highlighters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of highlighter

First recorded in 1965–70; highlight + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

highlighter highlighters

As she talks, she carefully dabs concealer under her eyes and adds some pink blush and highlighter to her cheeks.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

This is the afterglow of a celebration, the vibrant hues—caution-tape yellow and highlighter green—testifying to a party, the exhausted forms evidence of its raucousness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

I grabbed a highlighter from the bottom of my bag and began sketching a little illustration of the soup, coloring in the carrot chunks with bright orange.

From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2025

Santos recommends an Estée Lauder foundation and for Gaetz to avoid highlighter altogether.

From Slate ● Jan. 12, 2025

Some of them were circled with colorful highlighter.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

“In the old days, which was a year ago…you’d print out the statements of the town Visa card, Mastercard, and you would hand out a box of highlighters and go to work.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

To get a sense of whether you’re spending your money meaningfully, Agnew suggests we review monthly spending with highlighters in three different colors.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 21, 2025

Towering 7-meter-high LED screens pulsed with vivid yellows and fuchsias, reminiscent of highlighters underscoring vital messages – and used by secretaries the world over.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 26, 2023

Writing tools and supplies — including crayons, highlighters, pens, and pencils — have increased an average of 18.5% in the last 10 months.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2023

But I like the idea of getting highlighters.

From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle