lightning
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lightning
- /ˈlaɪt.nɪŋ/
- /ˈlaɪt.nɪŋ/ US
- [ˈlʌɪ̯ʔ.nɪŋ] US
- [ˈlɐɪ̯ʔ.nɪŋ] US
Rhymes with -aɪtnɪŋ
Where it comes from
From light(e)n + -ing. Doublet of lightening.
noun lightnings
- A flash of light produced by short-duration, high-voltage discharge of electricity within a cloud, between clouds, or between a cloud and the earth. Although we did not see the lightning, we did hear the thunder.
- A discharge of this kind. The lightning was hot enough to melt the sand.
- Anything that moves very fast. Nobs, though, was lightning by comparison with the slow thinking beast and dodged his opponent's thrust with ease. Then he raced to the rear of the tremendous thing and seized it by the tail.
- Gin. I took some gin but it did little to calm my mood. […] 'Come now, Bess,' she entreated, and poured another glass of lightning. 'Tell your old mother everything.' I took a gulp of the spirit, then babbled all, showing her the loot now in my possession.
- Obsolete form of lightening
adjective
- Extremely fast or sudden; moving (as if) at the speed of lightning. The insurgents then began their lightning advance along the Euphrates in the Sunni heartland toward Baghdad.
verb lightnings · lightninging · lightninged
- To produce lightning. Or if it thundered and lightninged, Aunt Frances always dropped everything she might be doing and held Elizabeth Ann tightly in her arms until it was all over.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: lightyear, flashpoint, thunderstorm, storm, electricity, ray, light, lighting, thunder, thunderbolt, levin, beacon, lightening, bolt, shotgun, telegraph
Translations
Every language
noun flash of light
| Español | relámpago, rayo, fucilazo, refucilo, candelazo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 번개 beon'gae, 벼락 byeorak |
| 日本語 | 稲妻 inazuma, 雷光 raikō, 雷 kaminari, 稲光 inabikari |
| 中文 | 閃電 /闪电 shǎndiàn, 電光 /电光 diànguāng |
| हिन्दी | तड़ित taṛit, विद्युत vidyut, बिजली bijlī, वज्रपात vajrapāt, दामिनी dāminī |
| Kiswahili | umeme |
| Português | relâmpago |
| Français | éclair, éloise |
| Deutsch | Blitz |
| Italiano | fulmine, folgore, saetta, lampo |
| Ελληνικά | αστραπή astrapí |
| Română | fulger, trăsnet |
| Русский | мо́лния mólnija |
| Tiếng Việt | sét, chớp |
| العربية | بَرْق barq |
| עברית | בָּרָק barák |
noun discharge
| Español | rayo, relámpago |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 閃電 /闪电 shǎndiàn |
| हिन्दी | तड़ित taṛit, विद्युत vidyut, बिजली bijlī, वज्रपात vajrapāt, दामिनी dāminī |
| Português | raio, corisco |
| Français | foudre |
| Deutsch | Entladung |
| Ελληνικά | κεραυνός keravnós |
| Русский | мо́лния mólnija |
| العربية | بَرْق barq |
adj extremely fast
| Português | veloz |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | αστραπιαίος astrapiaíos, κεραυνοβόλος keravnovólos |
| Русский | молниено́сный molnijenósnyj |
verb to produce lightning
| Español | relampaguear, fucilar |
|---|---|
| Português | relampear, relampejar |
| العربية | بَرَقَ baraqa, أَبْرَقَ ʔabraqa |
Talk about this word "lightning." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lightning. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. lightning. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lightning "lightning." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lightning.Cite this
@misc{lightning_2026,
title = {lightning},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lightning},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
