incandescent lamp

American  

noun

1. a lamp that emits light due to the glowing of a heated material, especially the common device in which a tungsten filament enclosed within an evacuated glass bulb is rendered luminous by the passage of an electric current through it.

---

incandescent lamp British  

noun

1. a source of light that contains a heated solid, such as an electrically heated filament

---

incandescent lamp Scientific  

/ ĭn′kən-dĕs′ənt /

1. A lamp that produces light by heating up a filament of wire inside a bulb with an electric current, causing incandescence. The glass bulb containing the filament is filled with a nonreactive gas, such as argon, to prevent the wire from burning.

2. Compare fluorescent lamp

---

Etymology

Origin of incandescent lamp

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

In 1880, Thomas Edison received a historic patent embodying the principles of his incandescent lamp.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 7, 2023

LEDs are much more efficient, requiring less than 25% of the energy consumed by an incandescent lamp.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2022

In 1880, Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.

From Washington Times • Jan. 27, 2021

It is illuminated by an incandescent lamp whose rays are interrupted forty-six times a second while the pictures shoot past, the latter being only momentarily lighted up just as they reach the eye.

From Slate • Jul. 7, 2018

When I greet a friend, I am seeing her in reflected visible light, generated by the Sun, say, or by an incandescent lamp.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan