lightning
/ˈlaɪt.nɪŋ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.22 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
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.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Although we did not see the lightning, we did hear the thunder."
- "Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?"
- "It was the thought of hot July and August days, when the clouds piled up like woolly mountains, and lightnings streaked the sky."
- "Between 8 and 9 p.m., the recorder at a meteorological station at Harrow, Middlesex, picked up 1,470 lightning flashes within a radius of 10 to 15 miles, and observers at the station described the storm as "probably one of the most spectacular of the century.""
- "Manny drove a few miles per hour under the speed limit, entranced by the awesome display of lightning streaking out of the clouds toward earth."
- ""Ruu": The adults in the village all said that children like me could calm the lightning and turn the storms into timely rain."
Etymology
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈlaɪt.nɪŋ/