a proud, rebellious archangel, identified with Satan, who fell from heaven.
the planet Venus when appearing as the morning star.
(lowercase) friction match.
the leader of the rebellion of the angels: usually identified with Satan
the planet Venus when it rises as the morning star
before 1000; Middle English, Old English < Latin: morning star, literally, light-bringing, equivalent to lūci- (stem of lūx ) light + -fer -fer
How does lucifer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No wonder Dante, the Florence-born author of the “Divine Comedy,” consigned counterfeiters to the eighth circle of hell, “just one rung higher than Lucifer in the ninth.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
The Indian Express said "the emotional depth and dramatic weight that anchored Lucifer are largely absent in Empuraan" but praised "Mohanlal's commanding performance" and some other aspects of the film.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2025
He had the word Lucifer tattooed on his chest.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2023
Added bonus: the statuesque Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2022
After we decorated, Daisy Mae and Lucifer immediately began to pull down every bulb and bauble within paw’s reach, and Chipper took up residence deep within, squawking at anyone who walked past.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
When that wind blew, the simplest of devices—from lucifer matches to lantern-slides—would no longer function.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
And he produced an old and very rusty instrument of veterinary surgery from his vest-pocket, where it lay with copper money, tobacco quids, and lucifer matches.
From A Day's Ride A Life's Romance by Lever, Charles James
The former may be obtained by burning a little sulphur or a sulphured lucifer match under the perforations of a killing box of the pattern described, and the latter—well, every smoker knows that.
From Butterflies and Moths (British) by Furneaux, William S.
Besides these there were coils of wire and cord, balls of string, and several boxes of safety and lucifer matches.
From Bevis The Story of a Boy by Jefferies, Richard
Directions for making these luminous phials are very simple, and may be found in most of the books of experiments published prior to the introduction of the modern lucifer match.
From The Seven Follies of Science [2nd ed.] A popular account of the most famous scientific impossibilities and the attempts which have been made to solve them. by Phin, John
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.
