limelight
Americannoun
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Theater.
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(formerly) a lighting unit for spotlighting the front of the stage, producing illumination by means of a flame of mixed gases directed at a cylinder of lime and having a special lens for concentrating the light in a strong beam.
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the light so produced.
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Chiefly British. a lighting unit, especially a spotlight.
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the center of public attention, interest, observation, or notoriety.
He seems fond of the limelight.
noun
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a position of public attention or notice (esp in the phrase in the limelight )
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a type of lamp, formerly used in stage lighting, in which light is produced by heating lime to white heat
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Also called: calcium light. brilliant white light produced in this way
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of limelight
Explanation
To be in the limelight is to be at the center of public attention. It might make you a little jealous if your best friend's acting career suddenly puts her in the limelight. When a newly popular musician finds himself in the limelight, he might be surprised at all the attention. Someone who's in the limelight is constantly being talked about, interviewed, and photographed. In the early 1800's, theater stages were lit by heating a cylinder of the mineral called lime — the result was an intensely bright white light. The word limelight came to have its figurative meaning of "at the center of attention" in 1877.
Vocabulary lists containing limelight
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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.
While stock markets dazzled investors in April, largely neglected cryptocurrencies seem ready to fight for the limelight in May.
From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026
Never once did you complain or look to be in the limelight.
From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2026
Over the course of the regular season, James had demoted himself to a sidekick role, sacrificing shot attempts while Austin Reaves and MVP candidate Luka Doncic took over the limelight.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026
Ridings had been thrust into the limelight with her Brit Award-nominated debut in 2017, celebrated for her rich, pure-toned vocals on ballads like Lost Without You and the summery pop masterpiece Castles.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
Secretary of War Stanton has personally taken charge of identifying the larger conspiracy that has grown out of Booth’s single gunshot, pushing Lafayette Baker from the limelight.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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.
