taillight

American  

[teyl-lahyt] / ˈteɪlˌlaɪt /

noun

taillights plural

1. a light, usually red, at the rear of an automobile, train, etc.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• taillights
  plural

Etymology

Origin of taillight

First recorded in 1835–45; tail ¹ + light ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

taillight taillights

The officer walked up to my idling Impala and informed me that my left taillight was out.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

An orange car pulled into the parking lot, with a busted taillight, and a few members of the group got up and hobbled over.

From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026

But they often prefer to work with local police in such situations, who have much broader latitude to stop cars for reasons other than immigration, such as if someone is driving with a broken taillight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026

Minor violations such as a broken taillight or seat belt left unbuckled may lead to a ticket for an average motorist — but for someone who is undocumented it can have life-altering consequences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2024

The truck chugs to the top, and all I can see is the taillight glowing on the hill.

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya

The body panels have exposed fasteners, allowing—even encouraging—DIY’ers to swap out panels and upgrade exterior features, such as fog lights, signals, headlights and taillights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

“Instead of looking at taillights and stoplights, you’re watching hawks fly and seeing birds and deer and elk,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

Exodus became a dangerous trail of taillights flickering through the dust like fading fireflies, and camps across the playa feared they’d be stuck breaking down until the end of the week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2024

Although the systems and components on the Le Mans model are similar to the Next Gen car, the Le Mans version had functioning headlights and taillights.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 11, 2023

The yellow headlights and red taillights of the trucks and heavy equipment moved in and out of shadows as they crawled around the uneven terrain.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown