noun
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a device, consisting of a light source and a reflecting surface behind it, that projects a powerful beam of light in a particular direction
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the beam of light produced by such a device
Etymology
Origin of searchlight
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
The searchlight followed, its beam clearly outlined in the sulphur cloud that trailed the balloon.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
