searchlight

See also: Searchlight and search-light

English

Etymology

From search +‎ light. Compare West Frisian sykljocht (“searchlight”), Dutch zoeklicht (“searchlight”), Danish søgelys (“searchlight”), Swedish sökarljus (“searchlight”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈsɜːtʃˌlaɪt/
  • Hyphenation: search‧light

Noun

searchlight (plural searchlights)

  1. A light source that projects a bright beam of light in any direction, generally for military use.
  2. The light from the above source.

Hypernyms

Translations

Verb

searchlight (third-person singular simple present searchlights, present participle searchlighting, simple past and past participle searchlighted or searchlit)

  1. (transitive) To scan or sweep across like a searchlight.
    • 1937, L. Ron Hubbard, All Frontiers Are Jealous:
      A dozen air corps of fireflies searchlighted the spot for an instant.

Further reading

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