light bulb

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noun

an electric light.

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Origin of light bulb

First recorded in 1880–85

Words nearby light bulb

light bomber, light box, light bread, light breeze, light bridge, light bulb, light bulb moment, light cannon, light chain, light colonel, light cone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use light bulb in a sentence

“I haven’t encountered any buyers who say the light bulb went off,” said the fifth publishing executive.
Media Briefing: Following Google’s cookie-killing extension, publishers focus on confronting Apple’s Safari problem|Tim Peterson|August 12, 2021|Digiday
You likely interact with LED tech in some form multiple times per day, including the screen in your phone, light bulbs, and many other sources of illumination.
QLED vs. OLED vs. Mini LED: Understanding TV backlight tech|Billy Cadden|July 29, 2021|Popular-Science
So ultimately just had this light bulb go off, thinking, okay, we know how to measure soft skills.
Podcast: Playing the job market|Anthony Green|July 21, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Once you explain what it is you’re doing and what the attack surface management tools will actually give you, that light bulb moment occurred very quickly.
Cybersecurity can protect data. How about elevators?|MIT Technology Review Insights|July 12, 2021|MIT Technology Review

It served as a light bulb moment for BDG, which prides itself on being on top of publishing trends.
Case Study: How BDG grew its TikTok channel as one of the first ‘serious’ publishers on the app|Sara Jerde|May 28, 2021|Digiday
You just travel light with carry-on luggage, go to cities that you love, and get to hang out with all your friends.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And how we want to live our lives in light of those differences.
In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion|Gene Robinson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Gillingham tells Mary that he wants to make their lives simpler, but it sounds a little like the dying of the light.
What Downton’s Fashion Really Means|Katie Baker|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As Randy notes, “Maybe there is a value in shining a light on this and asking the questions.”
Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism|Samantha Allen|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Make ‘The Chew’s’ Carla Hall’s Sticky Toffee Pudding|Carla Hall|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Behold a dumpy, comfortable British paterfamilias in a light flannel suit and a faded sun hat.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
She did not need a great cook-book; She knew how much and what it took To make things good and sweet and light.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
Mr. Jones swung round a large iron key he held in his hand, and light dawned upon him.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood
Distance, the uncertain light, and imagination, magnified it to a high wall; high as the wall of China.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
The faint candle-light glimmered on a ponderous gilded cornice, which had also sustained violence.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

British Dictionary definitions for light bulb

light bulb

noun

a glass bulb containing a gas, such as argon or nitrogen, at low pressure and enclosing a thin metal filament that emits light when an electric current is passed through itSometimes shortened to: bulb

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