Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

streetlight effect

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.35 in modern English

Syllables
street-light -ef-fect
IPA
29
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A kind of observational bias whereby people only search for something where it is easiest to look.

Etymology

An allusion to an old joke in which a drunkard searches for his keys (lost elsewhere) under a streetlight because that is where the light is.

Inflected Forms

streetlight effects (plural)

Questions

What does streetlight effect mean?
A kind of observational bias whereby people only search for something where it is easiest to look.
Where does streetlight effect come from?
An allusion to an old joke in which a drunkard searches for his keys (lost elsewhere) under a streetlight because that is where the light is.

How to pronounce streetlight effect

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “streetlight effect”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “streetlight effect”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “streetlight effect” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.