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searchlight

American  
[surch-lahyt] / ˈsɜrtʃˌlaɪt /

noun

  1. a device, usually consisting of a light and reflector, for throwing a beam of light in any direction.

  2. a beam of light so thrown.

searchlight British  
/ ˈsɜːtʃˌlaɪt /

noun

  1. a device, consisting of a light source and a reflecting surface behind it, that projects a powerful beam of light in a particular direction

  2. the beam of light produced by such a device

"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 searchlight

First recorded in 1880–85; search + light 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.

Ms. Kuin looks for Diogenes not with a lamp but a searchlight, straining to see his influence everywhere—even in places it is very hard to detect.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

The task is a bit like discerning a field of fireflies around a central, massive searchlight.

From Science Daily • May 6, 2024

Using sound like a searchlight, they patrol the chilly depths.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 19, 2023

He then found himself "squinting into a gigantic searchlight" of media attention, he says.

From BBC • May 8, 2023

For a microsecond when he saw Percy, the boy seemed shocked—panicked even, like he’d been caught in a searchlight.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan

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.