aurora borealis

noun

aurora bo·​re·​al·​is -ˌbȯr-ē-ˈa-ləs 

: an aurora that occurs in earth's northern hemisphere

called also northern lights

Examples of aurora borealis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Northern lights adventures have been particularly appealing over the last couple of years, as the sun is currently in the solar maximum phase of its 11-year cycle, meaning the aurora borealis is at its most active through 2026. —Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 13 Nov. 2025

The lights, also known as the aurora borealis, have been spotted over long stretches in a number of states starting Tuesday night, including in Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and even as far south as Florida and Alabama. —Connor Greene, Time, 13 Nov. 2025

The aurora borealis was spotted in a large swath of states, including Tennessee, New York, New Mexico and Idaho. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 13 Nov. 2025

Wisconsinites have been treated to multiple displays of northern lights this week, as strong geomagnetic storms have led aurora borealis to light up the night sky across the northern United States. —Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 13 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, literally, northern dawn

First Known Use

1707, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for aurora borealis

• allis
• balas
• callous
• callus
• chalice
• gallus
• malice
• malus
• palace
• pallas
• phallus
• talis

Kids Definition

aurora borealis

noun

aurora bo·​re·​al·​is -ˌbōr-ē-ˈal-əs 

-ˌbȯr-

: broad bands of light that have a magnetic and electrical source and that appear in the sky at night especially in the arctic region

called also northern lights