floodlight

noun

flood·light | \ ˈfləd-ˌlīt

Definition of floodlight

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : artificial illumination in a broad beam

b : a source of such illumination

2 : a lighting unit for projecting a broad beam of light

floodlight

verb

floodlit\ ˈfləd-ˌlit

\ also floodlighted; floodlighting

Definition of floodlight (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to illuminate by means of one or more floodlights

Examples of floodlight in a Sentence

Noun

The yard was lit by floodlights.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The line includes floodlights, spotlights, a light to mount on steps, a motion detector, and pathlights for a walkway. — Dan Seifert, The Verge, "Ring has made it ridiculously easy to surround your house with smart lights and cameras," 9 July 2019 A dozen football pitches under weak floodlights play host to nightly matches between groups of university students, workers and waiters coming off their shifts. — Sarah Esther Maslin, 1843, "Rio is a riot in the early hours," 4 July 2019 The dry, reverberating drums of U.K. garage smash in; a wub-wub-wub noise scans like a prison-yard floodlight; there’s a sense of reckless acceleration and accumulating chaos. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Thom Yorke’s Beautiful New Nightmare," 29 June 2019 One night underwater off Bermuda, photographer David Doubilet was taking pictures of fish attracted to a floodlight on our boat. — David Doubilet, National Geographic, "Life in the North Atlantic depends on this floating seaweed," 12 June 2019 But then floodlights on the bottom of his boat illuminated something glowing in the water. — Zekriah Chaudhry, Twin Cities, "Minnesota angler’s mysterious ‘giant goldfish’ helps shed light on species," 14 June 2019 Use For: Pendant lamps, floodlights, under-cabinet lighting, and accent lighting. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "A Foolproof Guide to the Different Types of Light Bulbs," 8 June 2019 Surrounded by a scrum of guards, they were handcuffed and made to kneel under floodlights until they were taken away in a police wagon. — Matthew Wolfe, Harper's magazine, "Without a Trace," 10 Feb. 2019 But with some smart processing, Global Fisher Watch used their data to locate small, bright patches at night, such as floodlights used for squid fishing. — David Hambling, Popular Mechanics, "How Small Satellites Will Help Police Earth's Vast Oceans," 4 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Colonel Beara was specifically accused of overseeing the beheading of up to 100 men and boys, of supervising the digging of mass graves, and of floodlighting killing zones so that firing squads could conduct executions at night. — Sam Roberts, New York Times, "Ljubisa Beara, Who Oversaw Massacre at Srebrenica, Dies at 77," 10 Feb. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'floodlight.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.