Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An apparatus containing a light source and a reflector for projecting a high-intensity beam of approximately parallel rays of light.
- n. The beam of light so projected.
- n. A flashlight.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An electric arc-light having a lens or reflector, mounted on shipboard or on land on a vertical axis in such a way that the beam of light may be made to traverse in a horizontal path. It is used on merchant ships to light up intricate channels at night, and on men-of-war to detect the approach of torpedo-boats or other enemies. It is also used in military operations and for other purposes.
Wiktionary
- n. A light source that projects a bright beam of light in any direction.
- n. The light from the above source.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An apparatus for projecting a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays, usually devised so that it can be swiveled about.
- n. The beam of light projecting by this apparatus.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a light source with reflectors that projects a beam of light in a particular direction
Etymologies
- From search + light (Wiktionary)
Examples
“This should make for a interesting day in searchlight NV.”
Think Progress » Citing ‘irreversible damage,’ EPA nears veto of mountaintop removal permit.
“By the way I have a very good education from France and I would have to look in a dictionary to see what the word for searchlight is as well.”
“The town does have a searchlight, which is awesome, and its main attraction, the Searchlight Nugget Casino, sells a bottomless cup of coffee for 10 cents.”
“Gill says the "searchlight" should be turned to the players who will participate in the Games.”
Voice of America: Organizers of India's Commonwealth Games Face Corruption Allegations
“I looked back to the shore, with its winking lights and looming cliffs, and wished I could see by some kind of searchlight into the soul of England on this night of fate.”
“Extraterrestrials would be more likely to send narrow "searchlight" beams delivered in pulses.”
“The helicopter going round at midnight or one o'clock in the morning, and doing circuits with the searchlight, that is extreme!”
“I mean that I'm inventing a new kind of searchlight, Ned.”
Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight; or, on the border for Uncle Sam
“Sparing no punches, “The Book of Bastards: 101 Worst Scoundrels and Scandals from the World of Politics and Power” (Adams Media, $12.95 paper) sweeps the searchlight through American history and finds targets from our earliest day right up to the present, including such figures as Sarah Palin, Mark Sanford and John Edwards – Nos. 99, 100, and 101.”
“It is to stabilize your attention so that you can be the one who is directing the searchlight of your attention, rather than being the pinball, having your attention bounce toward whatever is most compelling at the moment.”
The Huffington Post: Cassandra Vieten: Riding the Roller Coaster of Pregnancy and Early Parenting
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘searchlight’.
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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Potpourri
eponymous, aa, pulchritude, gizmo, macabre, sui generis, solecism, solipsism, eldritch, samizdat, queue, obsequious and 469 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, S
scrunch, solace, sabotage, saccade, sacerdotal, sacrilegious, sacristy, snappy, skew, steadfast, scowl, scorch and 781 more...
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newspaper names
Feel free to combine these in any way to create your own newspaper. Use lots of hyphens! (And yes, these are all used at real newspapers.)
times, union, post, dispatch, outlook, star, news, courier, herald, advertiser, daily, eagle and 178 more...
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What do these words have in common?
They were/are code names used by the US Secret Service for presidents, vice-presidents, presidential candidates, and their families.
Source: BBC (and here again)renegade, renaissance, rosebud, radiance, trailblazer, tempo, smurfette, sawhorse, sundance, phoenix, parasol, denali and 11 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for searchlight.
rfb Richard Nixon's Secret Service code name... Nov 14, 2008
oroboros The searchlight metaphor: The greater swath the searchlight penetrates, the greater is the circumference of the unknown. So, the more we know, the more we don't know. Nov 8, 2008