house lights

British

plural noun

the lights in the auditorium of a theatre, cinema, etc

"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

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.

The house lights turned on as 2,800 people rose to their feet for endless applause.

From Slate • Jun. 30, 2025

But under the house lights each week on live TV, Johnson knows storylines are sold on his Hollywood heel persona.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 4, 2024

But then the house lights went down and a spotlight went up, and he was holding a mic, looking like a stand-up comedian in full performance mode.

From New York Times • Jan. 11, 2024

The house lights came on and security guards could be seen running through the crowd toward the area where the fan landed.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2023

An assembled audience of two thousand settles down as the house lights dim.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023