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.

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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

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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

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

Overcome by a “huge wave of inspiration”, she now says, she pulled out her mini Jack Wills diary and wrote in pink highlighter:

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2024

I’m up before my sisters and in the middle of my book, a highlighter and pencil in hand, just like Papi taught me.

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi

“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

I wandered next door into the exhibit hall, where rows of tables were strapped with plastic banners and heaped with leaflets, mints, lens cleaners, highlighters, and tote bags.

From Slate ● Jan. 13, 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

Jenner swiftly expanded her brand’s reach, introducing an eye shadow palette in 2016, highlighters in 2017 and so on.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2023

I lift a box of highlighters, all shaped like boiled eggs.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman