streetlight

American

[street-lahyt] / ˈstritˌlaɪt /

noun

a light, usually supported by a lamppost, for illuminating a street or road.

streetlight British

/ ˈstriːtˌlaɪt /

noun

a light, esp one carried on a lamppost, that illuminates a road, 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

Etymology

Origin of streetlight

First recorded in 1615–25; street + 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.

As a result, the city has been swamped with a mounting backlog of streetlight repairs — more than 33,000.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

A truck driver has been lightly injured after a United Airlines plane clipped his vehicle and a streetlight as it approached Newark Airport in New Jersey on Sunday.

From BBC • May 4, 2026

The average time to fix a streetlight is 12 months, he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026

Mr. Scorsese makes his nocturnal vision pop with every glowing streetlight and every thick raindrop.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

Dwight was tossing a basketball into the hoop on the streetlight pole at the edge of the yard.

From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor

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