highlighter
Americannoun
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a felt-tip pen with a wide nib for highlighting passages of printed material in a soft, transparent color.
-
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.
noun
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a cosmetic cream or powder applied to the face to highlight the cheekbones, eyes, etc
-
a fluorescent felt-tip pen used as a marker to emphasize a section of text without obscuring it
Etymology
Origin of highlighter
First recorded in 1965–70; highlight + -er 1 ( def. )
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.
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
The aboatia blends in about as much as a flamingo-pink highlighter in a sea of pencils.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
