light up

British  

verb

1. to light a cigarette, pipe, etc

2. to illuminate or cause to illuminate

3. to make or become cheerful or animated

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light up Idioms  

1. Become or cause to become more animated or cheerful, as in Her laughter lit up the whole room , or His face lit up when he saw her . This expression transfers physical illumination to human moods. Also see lighten up . [Mid-1700s]

2. Start smoking a cigar, cigarette, or pipe, as in The minute he got outside the church he lit up . [ Colloquial ; mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

Following her death, colleagues from the home she worked in said she was caring and compassionate, with a smile that could light up any room.

From BBC

The L lights up on the lamp board.

From Literature

"Boxing was just something that has always been there in my life," Francesca says, recalling how she would light up when strangers would recognise her dad in restaurants and out in public.

From BBC

Each neighborhood has its own group powered by local people on the encrypted messaging app Signal, which lights up with rumors and tips when vehicles with tinted-windows or ICE officers are spotted.

From Barron's

The computer plays itself quietly, lighting up in measured, zigzagging rows until one or two players take up the controllers, which operate the game’s so-called paddles.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• blink
• flicker
• gleam
• glint
• glisten
• glitter
• glow
• illuminate
• shimmer
• sparkle
• wink