strobe light

American  

[strohb lahyt] / ˈstroʊb ˌlaɪt /

noun

strobe lights plural

1. a lamp capable of producing extremely short, brilliant bursts of light and used for various purposes, such as photographing rapidly moving objects or to create special lighting effects, as in a discotheque or at a rock concert.

2. stroboscope.

3. the light produced by such a lamp, occurring in short, brilliant bursts.

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strobe light Scientific  

1. A lamp that produces very short, intense flashes of light by means of an electric discharge in a gas. The ability of strobe lights to “freeze” the motion of rapidly moving objects by making them visible for only a fraction of a second makes them very useful in photography and in measuring vibration and other types of high-speed motion.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• strobe-light
  adjective
• strobe lighting
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• strobe lights
  plural

Example Sentences

The flashes can also be used as a strobe light to make “movies” of molecules responding to, say, a blast of ordinary laser light.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 18, 2023

“The grand jury presents oftentimes novel issues and issues that deal with high-profile individuals, generating an enormous strobe light of press attention,” she said.

From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2023

In a converted former mint in Berlin on Saturday, crowds danced in a blaze of strobe light as a rapper hollered Ukrainian lyrics to punchy beats.

From Reuters • Feb. 25, 2023

I left with a fog machine, a strobe light, rainbow colored light bulbs, and some books of artist writings, one titled “Failure,” the other, “Appropriation.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 5, 2022

My mom, sitting near Hector on the bed, dodges to the left to avoid being whacked by her strobe light phone.

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden