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Definitions

lightning

[lahyt-ning] / ˈlaɪt nɪŋ /
NOUN
electrical discharge
Synonyms
STRONG
bolt fulmination
WEAK
firebolt

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for lightning?
A single streak of lightning can be called a lightning bolt or just a bolt. Since thunder and lightning typically go together, this is sometimes called a thunderbolt or even a thunderstroke. The bright light released is sometimes called a flash of lightning. The instance of lightning hitting something, like the ground or a tower, can be called a lightning strike or a lightning stroke.  Thunderstorms are sometimes called lightning storms, especially when they produce a lot of lightning. Another term for this is an electrical storm.  Some people use the term heat lightning to refer to distant lightning, typically the far-off kind that lights up the clouds on the horizon without any visible bolts or audible thunder. It’s sometimes called summer lightning. The term sheet lightning can be used to refer to this or to lightning that appears to light up the whole sky, typically due to reflection or being inside a cloud. A rare form of lightning that appears as a glowing orb is called ball lightning.  Technically speaking, lightning is an electrical discharge—inside a cloud, between clouds, or between clouds and the ground. When lightning strikes a cloud or the ground, it can produce a second bolt that travels in the opposite direction, called reverse lightning or a return stroke. The adjectives fulminous and fulgurous can be used to describe things involving or relating to lightning, but they are quite formal and uncommon. The word lightning is also commonly used in a figurative way to describe things that are very fast, as in lightning speed.
How do you use lightning in a sentence?
Because literal lightning is so strikingly impressive, it’s commonly used in figurative and metaphorical ways, especially in descriptions involving speed, explosiveness, and sudden impact. Here are some examples of lightning in a sentence:
  • Did you know that thunder is sound waves generated by the expansion of air resulting from the heat produced by lightning?
  • Her idea was like lightning for our brainstorming session—it electrified us into a creative frenzy. 
  • The cat darted across the room as fast as lightning.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The chat box messages zip by with lightning speed.

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026

First, it’s an old-fashioned love story with a fantastical twist: Lively’s character dies in a car crash but is revived when she’s struck by lightning, only to stop aging forever.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026

That’s about 1 in 820,000 folks allegedly registering or voting illegally, a rate that roughly matches how often people in the United States get struck by lightning in a given year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Thunder and lightning have boomed across Marseille following the weekend's mayhem, illuminating the cracked windows and boarded-up doors of hundreds of businesses that were smashed as protests gave way to disorder.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

The vision was as vivid as a lightning flash.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Or really, lightninged out by area storms after only three holes.

From Golf Digest ● Aug. 9, 2019

Having thus lightninged and thundered, Architect Warren ended his declaration with a statement mild as milk.

From Time Magazine Archive

It thundered and lightninged incessantly, so that his ears rang and his eyes were blinded.

From The Chinese Fairy Book by Richard Wilhelm

It thundered and lightninged, and blowing a high gale, which was music in our ears, as we knew we were out of danger, and feeling the supreme gratification of knowing what we had escaped.

From The Adventures of a Forty-niner An Historic Description of California, with Events and Ideas of San Francisco and Its People in Those Early Days by Sigismond de Ivanowski

That night it thundered and lightninged, and Antha nearly went into hysterics.

From The Campfire Girls on Ellen's Isle The Trail of the Seven Cedars by Hildegard G. (Hildegard Gertrude) Frey

Vocabulary lists containing lightning

Physical Geography - Introductory

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Name On: Pro Sports Team Names, Part 2

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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 1

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