lightning
- Noun:
- A natural electrical discharge: A sudden, powerful flash of light in the sky caused by electricity moving between clouds or from a cloud to the ground, typically followed by thunder.
- Something resembling such a flash: Anything that is very fast, bright, or sudden, similar to a flash of lightning.
- Noun:
- The storm was intense, with frequent lightning illuminating the entire valley.
- We saw a brilliant fork of lightning split the dark sky.
- Her reaction was as quick as lightning. (Used figuratively to describe speed)
"Lightning strike": This phrase can refer literally to the event of lightning hitting an object or person. Figuratively, it often describes a sudden, unexpected event, such as a spontaneous labor strike.
- The old tree was destroyed by a lightning strike.
- The union called a lightning strike to protest the new policies.
"Lightning speed" / "Like lightning" / "As quick as lightning": Idiomatic expressions used to emphasize extreme speed or a very rapid action.
- The cheetah ran at lightning speed.
- He moved like lightning to catch the falling glass.
Lightning bolt (n): A single discharge or flash of lightning, often visualized as a jagged line.
- A lightning bolt struck the tower.
Lightning rod (n): A metal rod mounted on a structure to divert lightning safely to the ground. Figuratively, a person who attracts criticism or controversy.
- Franklin is famous for his experiments with the lightning rod.
Lightning bug (n): (Chiefly US) Another term for a firefly, an insect that produces light.
- Flash: A sudden brief burst of bright light.
- Bolt: A shaft of lightning (as in "lightning bolt").
"Lightning never strikes twice (in the same place)": A proverb suggesting that an unusual or disastrous event is unlikely to happen again in the same way or to the same person. (Note: This is scientifically inaccurate but used idiomatically.)
- Don't worry about another failure; lightning never strikes twice.
"Lightning war": A direct translation of "Blitzkrieg," referring to a war conducted with great speed and force.
- The strategy was based on the concept of lightning war.
- "To catch lightning in a bottle": To capture something powerful and elusive; to achieve something rare and difficult to replicate.
- The director managed to catch lightning in a bottle with that incredible film.
- the flash of light that accompanies an electric discharge in the atmosphere (or something resembling such a flash); can scintillate for a second or more
- abrupt electric discharge from cloud to cloud or from cloud to earth accompanied by the emission of light