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lamplighter

American  
[lamp-lahy-ter] / ˈlæmpˌlaɪ tər /

noun

  1. a person employed to light and extinguish street lamps, especially those burning gas.

  2. a contrivance for lighting lamps.


lamplighter British  
/ ˈlæmpˌlaɪtə /

noun

  1. (formerly) a person who lit and extinguished street lamps, esp gas ones

  2. any of various devices used to light lamps

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of lamplighter

First recorded in 1740–50; lamp + lighter 1


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.

See Examples For:

The books took his readers deep into "the circus" with jargon such as "honey trap", "mole" and "lamplighter" becoming common parlance.

From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2020

“Mary Poppins Returns,” starring Emily Blunt as everyone’s favorite magical nanny, and Lin-Manuel Miranda as her Cockney lamplighter pal, is a sequel to “Mary Poppins,” the Oscar-winning 1964 classic.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 19, 2018

In “Mary Poppins Returns,” Mr. Miranda’s lamplighter, Jack, leads an athletic dance number, much in the way the chimney sweep Bert led “Step in Time.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2018

He chose to do “Mary Poppins Returns” next, taking on the role of Jack, a warm-hearted lamplighter with ties to Mary Poppins and her old cohort, Bert.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2018

A lamplighter scuttled along the edges of the crowd igniting the gas jets atop cast-iron poles.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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