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lightning

Pronunciation: /ˈlʌɪtnɪŋ/
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Definition of lightning

noun

[mass noun]
  • the occurrence of a natural electrical discharge of very short duration and high voltage between a cloud and the ground or within a cloud, accompanied by a bright flash and typically also thunder:a tremendous flash of lightning
  • [count noun] literary a flash or discharge of lightning:the sky was a mass of black cloud out of which lightnings flashed

adjective

[attributive]
  • very quick:a lightning cure for his hangover galloping across the country at lightning speed

Phrases

lightning never strikes twice in the same place

proverb an unusual situation or event is unlikely to happen again in exactly the same circumstances or to the same person.

like (greased) lightning

very quickly: he leaped over the tailboard of the lorry like greased lightning

Origin:

Middle English: special use of lightening (verbal noun from lighten2)

The form lightning is historically a contracted form of lightening (it was at one time spelled light’ning) but the two forms are now two distinct words. In the sense thunder and lightning and lightning speed, the spelling is always lightning, while in the sense ‘make or become lighter’ the spelling is always lightening.

lightning in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of lightning in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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