jack-o'-lantern
Americannoun
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a hollowed pumpkin with openings cut to represent human eyes, nose, and mouth and in which a candle or other light may be placed, traditionally made for display at Halloween.
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a commercially made lantern resembling this.
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any phenomenon of light, as a corona discharge or an ignis fatuus.
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a poisonous luminescent orange fungus, Omphalotus olearius, often found in clusters at the base of hardwood tree stumps.
noun
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a lantern made from a hollowed pumpkin, which has holes cut in it to represent a human face
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a will-o'-the-wisp or similar phenomenon
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of jack-o'-lantern
First recorded in 1655–65
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.
But the pumpkin’s likely last stop will be in New York, where it will be carved for another shot at a Guinness record as the world’s largest and heaviest jack-o’-lantern, Gienger said.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2023
As the popularity of items like theirs Knuckle Head Pumpkins reveals, Super Freak pumpkins are amazing jack-o'-lantern material.
From Salon • Oct. 30, 2022
Rain falling on your jack-o’-lantern will invite every mold in the neighborhood to take up residency in or on it.
From Scientific American • Oct. 19, 2022
He took a pink plastic jack-o’-lantern — bought years ago at 90% off — and turned the face around, then added a cheap flickering lightbulb and rope cord from Amazon to make a ceiling lamp.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 15, 2022
The air smelled of wet leaves, and our carved jack-o’-lantern flickered impressively against the shrubbery by the door.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
