Meaning of Lightning | Babel Free

Definitions

1. 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, usually
2. A discharge of this kind.
   uncountable, usually
3. Anything that moves very fast.
   figuratively, uncountable, usually
4. Gin.
   archaic, slang, uncountable, usually

Equivalents

Examples

“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.”

“The lightning was hot enough to melt the sand.”

“That tree was hit by lightning.”

“Auster and Aquilon with winged Steeds All ſweating, tilt about the watery heauens, With ſhiuering ſpeares enforcing thunderclaps, And from their ſhields ſtrike flames of lightening”

“The rain at length ceased; and the lightnings, as they played along the black parapet of clouds, that lay piled in the east, shone with less dazzling fierceness, […]”

“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.”

“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.”

CEFR level