searchlight
noun
search·light
ˈsərch-ˌlīt 
: an apparatus for projecting a powerful beam of light
also
: a beam of light projected by it
Examples of searchlight in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
During both World War I and II, the Point Loma peninsula played a key role in San Diego’s coastal defense, equipped with searchlight bunkers, fire control stations and gun batteries.
—
Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Apr. 2024
After two hours of work, paused only when one of the German searchlights floated over their position or the moon shone too brightly between the clouds, Scott and McIntyre finished their task.
—Myke Cole and Michael Livingston, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2024
The Bangladeshi British food writer’s latest cookbook feels almost like a cluster of searchlights playing over the vast terrain of Bangladesh; her dishes ally to the six seasons of summer, monsoon, autumn, late autumn, winter, and spring.
—Meher Mirza, Vogue, 5 Dec. 2023
Images suggest that defenders with searchlights and machineguns are shooting down some Shaheds.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
When the aft searchlight came on, Lieutenant Walsh saw what had rocked the craft: the explosive cracking of a plastic window.
—William J. Broad, New York Times, 18 Nov. 2023
His iteration of The New Republic did not fare well, in the rearview mirror, under the inquisitive searchlights of #MeToo and Black Lives Matter.
—Dwight Garner, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2023
After the Manhattan Project commandeered the mine in 1943 and forced miners to work round-the-clock shifts in the open pit under searchlights, the mine’s name was formally interdicted from reproduction and erased from maps.
—Roger Peet, The New Republic, 30 Aug. 2023
It is equipped with an array of sophisticated sensors, including cameras, radar and a searchlight for illuminating objects on the ground.
—Joby Warrick, Anchorage Daily News, 19 July 2023
Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Apr. 2024
After two hours of work, paused only when one of the German searchlights floated over their position or the moon shone too brightly between the clouds, Scott and McIntyre finished their task.
—Myke Cole and Michael Livingston, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2024
The Bangladeshi British food writer’s latest cookbook feels almost like a cluster of searchlights playing over the vast terrain of Bangladesh; her dishes ally to the six seasons of summer, monsoon, autumn, late autumn, winter, and spring.
—Meher Mirza, Vogue, 5 Dec. 2023
Images suggest that defenders with searchlights and machineguns are shooting down some Shaheds.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
When the aft searchlight came on, Lieutenant Walsh saw what had rocked the craft: the explosive cracking of a plastic window.
—William J. Broad, New York Times, 18 Nov. 2023
His iteration of The New Republic did not fare well, in the rearview mirror, under the inquisitive searchlights of #MeToo and Black Lives Matter.
—Dwight Garner, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2023
After the Manhattan Project commandeered the mine in 1943 and forced miners to work round-the-clock shifts in the open pit under searchlights, the mine’s name was formally interdicted from reproduction and erased from maps.
—Roger Peet, The New Republic, 30 Aug. 2023
It is equipped with an array of sophisticated sensors, including cameras, radar and a searchlight for illuminating objects on the ground.
—Joby Warrick, Anchorage Daily News, 19 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'searchlight.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near searchlight
Cite this Entry
“Searchlight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/searchlight. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
searchlight
noun
search·light
ˈsərch-ˌlīt
: a device for casting a beam of light
also
: a beam of light cast by it
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