Definition

Noun: 1. An electric lamp: A device that produces light by passing an electric current through a thin wire filament (usually made of tungsten), causing it to glow white-hot. The filament is enclosed within a glass bulb, which is typically transparent or translucent and may be filled with an inert gas. 2. The glass bulb itself: The physical, often pear-shaped, glass enclosure that houses the filament and other components of an electric lamp.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The light bulb in the hallway needs to be replaced.
  • Thomas Edison is famously credited with the invention of a practical, long-lasting light bulb.
  • She unscrewed the old light bulb and carefully installed a new, energy-efficient one.

Advanced Usage

• "A light bulb moment": An idiom describing a sudden moment of inspiration, understanding, or a bright idea, often symbolized by the visual of a light bulb turning on above a person's head in cartoons.
  • I was struggling with the problem for hours, and then I had a light bulb moment.

Variants and Related Words

• Lightbulb (noun): An alternative, often single-word, spelling of "light bulb".
• Bulb (noun): In the context of lighting, this is a common short form for "light bulb".
  • Can you pick up some new bulbs from the store?
• Incandescent bulb (noun phrase): The technical term for a traditional light bulb that uses a heated filament.
• LED bulb (noun phrase): A modern type of light bulb that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the source of illumination.

Synonyms

• Lamp (in the specific sense of a replaceable light-producing unit)
• Globe (regional, e.g., used in Australia)

Related Idioms

• "The light bulb went on": Equivalent to "a light bulb moment"; indicates the sudden occurrence of an idea or understanding.
  • When she explained the rule, the light bulb finally went on in my head.

Noun

1. electric lamp consisting of a transparent or translucent glass housing containing a wire filament (usually tungsten) that emits light when heated by electricity