lamp

American  

[lamp] / læmp /

noun

1. any of various devices furnishing artificial light, as by electricity or gas.

2. a container for an inflammable liquid, as oil, which is burned at a wick as a means of illumination.

3. a source of intellectual or spiritual light.

   the lamp of learning.

4. any of various devices furnishing heat, ultraviolet, or other radiation.

   an infrared lamp.

5. a celestial body that gives off light, as the moon or a star.

6. a torch.

7. Slang. lamps, the eyes.

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verb (used with object)

1. Slang. to look at; eye.

idioms

1. smell of the lamp, to give evidence of laborious study or effort.

   His dissertation smells of the lamp.

lamp British  

/ læmp /

noun

1. 1. any of a number of devices that produce illumination

      an electric lamp

      a gas lamp

      an oil lamp

   2. ( in combination )

      lampshade

2. a device for holding one or more electric light bulbs

   a table lamp

3. a vessel in which a liquid fuel is burned to supply illumination

4. any of a variety of devices that produce radiation, esp for therapeutic purposes

   an ultraviolet lamp

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Other Word Forms

• lampless adjective

Etymology

Origin of lamp

1150–1200; Middle English lampe < Old French < Late Latin lampada, for Latin lampas (stem lampad- ) < Greek lampás lamp; akin to lámpē torch, lamp, lámpein to shine

Example Sentences

Now in towns across America, these volunteer-led gatherings invite people to bring in broken household items—a toaster, a lamp, a bike—and participants use their skills to repair them.

From The Wall Street Journal

As Bloor retreated further under the covers and pulled them up to her neck, her partner switched on the bedside lamp and confirmed the Brisbane couple's fears.

From BBC

By the time his competitors got their oil out of the ground, Rockefeller owned every inch of infrastructure between the wellhead and the kerosene lamp.

From MarketWatch

Chevron-patterned hardwood flooring was accessorized with a patterned rug at the center of the space, while a large wooden side table with a lamp was seen next to one arm of the couch.

From MarketWatch

With a little help from some of the other operatives, we hung five silver lamps around the room—one in each of the four corners, and the fifth hanging in the very center.

From Literature

Related Words

• flashlight
• light