INDEX:
not dark
1. light from the sun, a fire, an electric light etc
2. to make a place light
3. when the lights in a place are on
not heavy
4. not heavy
5. to make something lighter
RELATED WORDS
light a fire : ↑ FIRE , ↑ BURN
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1. light from the sun, a fire, an electric light etc
▷ light /laɪt/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Light was coming into the room through a crack in the door.
▪ a gas lamp that gives as much light as a 100 watt bulb
the light
the amount of natural light in a place
▪ The light was fading, and I was afraid we wouldn’t be home before dark.
good/strong/bright light
▪ The light isn’t good enough to take a photograph.
poor/dim/fading light
▪ In the fading light she could just make out the shape of a tractor.
soft/warm light
▪ The valley was bathed in the soft light of dawn.
cold/harsh light
▪ the cold blue light of the Arctic
blinding/dazzling light
very strong light that hurts your eyes
▪ a sudden flash of blinding light
by the light of the moon/the fire/a candle
with only the moon etc to give light
▪ She sat reading by the light of the fire.
▷ it’s light /ɪts ˈlaɪt/ spoken
use this to say that there is natural daylight, so that you can see easily enough to do something :
▪ Let’s go now while it’s still light.
▪ It’s not light enough to play outside.
▷ daylight /ˈdeɪlaɪt/ [uncountable noun]
the natural light of day :
in daylight
▪ I’d like to look at the house again in daylight.
daylight hours
the time when it is light
▪ The park is open during daylight hours.
▷ sunlight /ˈsʌnlaɪt/ [uncountable noun]
the light from the sun :
▪ Her long blonde hair was shining in the sunlight.
▪ We emerged from the dark forest into the sunlight.
direct sunlight
▪ Keep the plant out of direct sunlight.
▷ moonlight /ˈmuːnlaɪt/ [uncountable noun]
the light from the moon :
▪ The trees looked strangely white in the moonlight.
▪ Moonlight came in through the curtains, lighting up the children’s sleeping faces.
▷ glare /gleəʳ/ [singular noun]
a very bright and unpleasant light that makes you want to close your eyes or turn your head away :
glare of
▪ the glare of the car’s headlights
▪ The heat and glare of the furnace is immense.
▷ glow /gləʊ/ [singular noun]
a soft pleasant light, especially from something that is burning :
▪ Candles give a warm glow to the room.
glow of
▪ the orange glow of the sunset
▷ beam /biːm/ [countable noun]
a line of light shining from something such as a lamp :
▪ We could see the beams of searchlights scanning the sky.
beam of light
▪ Maggie stumbled across the field with only a narrow beam of light from her flashlight to help her.
▷ ray /reɪ/ [countable noun]
a line of light, especially one shining from the sun :
▪ Use a sunscreen to protect your skin against the sun’s harmful rays.
▪ The first rays of the sun pierced the canopy of leaves above us, and the forest began to wake up.
2. to make a place light
▷ light up /ˌlaɪt ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to shine lights on a place so that people can see it well, or so that it looks attractive :
light up something/light something up
▪ Fireworks lit up the night sky.
▪ Their garden was lit up by dozens of coloured lamps.
▷ light /laɪt/ [transitive verb]
to put lights in a place so that people can see what is happening there :
▪ What are you going to use to light the stage?
be lit by/with something
▪ The room was lit by dozens of candles.
▷ switch/turn/put on the light(s) /ˌswɪtʃ, ˌtɜːʳn, ˌpʊt ɒn ðə ˈlaɪt(s)/ [verb phrase]
to turn or press a control to make an electric light produce light :
▪ Can you put the light on? I can’t see anything!
▪ When I turned on the light, I realized the room was in chaos.
▷ illuminate /ɪˈluːmɪneɪt, ɪˈluːməneɪt, ɪˈljuː-ǁɪˈluː-/ [transitive verb]
to make a place light or shine light on something so that you can see it, especially in order to draw attention to something :
illuminate something
▪ Small lights illuminate different points on the map.
▪ The blazing fire illuminated the china ornaments above the hearth.
be illuminated by/with something
▪ A small path was illuminated by low orange lamps concealed in the flower beds.
3. when the lights in a place are on
▷ the lights are on /ðə ˌlaɪts ɑːr ˈɒn/:
▪ Although the lights were on, nobody answered the door.
▪ The lights are still on in a couple of the offices.
▷ be lit up /biː ˌlɪt ˈʌp/ [verb phrase]
if a room, house, building etc is lit up, the lights are on inside or outside :
▪ People were getting ready for dinner, and the house was all lit up.
▪ In the town centre, the streets are all lit up for Christmas.
be lit up by/with
▪ The mosque is lit up by floodlights at night.
▷ ablaze /əˈbleɪz/ [adjective not before noun]
if a place or set of lights is ablaze, there is a lot of bright light because all the lights are turned on - used especially in literature :
▪ The yacht passed us, its cabin lights ablaze.
ablaze with
▪ Every shop window is ablaze with bright Christmas lights.
4. not heavy
▷ light /laɪt/ [adjective]
▪ You can carry this bag -- it’s fairly light.
▪ Modern tennis rackets are much lighter than old-fashioned wooden ones.
▪ Heat rises because hot air is lighter than cold air.
light as a feather
extremely light
▪ She was light as a feather to carry, and her hands were cold as ice.
▷ lightweight /ˈlaɪtweɪt/ [adjective]
lightweight clothes, materials, or equipment are specially made so that they weigh very little :
▪ a lightweight summer suit
▪ a strong, lightweight material such as titanium
▪ Today’s baby buggies are lightweight, compact, and easy to fold.
▷ weightless /ˈweɪtləs/ [adjective]
if someone or something is weightless, they seem to weigh much less than usual, especially because they are floating in space or water :
▪ Astronauts have problems moving around in the spacecraft because they are virtually weightless.
weightlessness [uncountable noun]
▪ It takes a shuttle crew around a day to get used to the weightlessness of space.
5. to make something lighter
▷ make something lighter /ˌmeɪk something ˈlaɪtəʳ/ [verb phrase]
▪ They had taken out all the drawers to make it lighter, before carrying it down the stairs.
▪ Many parts are now made from plastic instead of steel, making cars lighter and more fuel-efficient.
▷ lighten /ˈlaɪtn/ [transitive verb]
to make something lighter, especially in order to make it easier to move or carry :
▪ I’m sure you could lighten that suitcase a little if you only packed what you need.
lighten the load
▪ As weather conditions got worse, Watts and Peters abandoned their photographic equipment in order to lighten the load.