hazard lights

plural noun

: special lights on a vehicle that flash on and off and are used to warn other drivers (as when the vehicle is not working properly)

Turn on your hazard lights. Wait inside the car for your tow, and get out only if it's safe—meaning traffic is at a crawl.

—Adam Kleiner

called also hazards

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The driver of the truck, who had stopped while authorities investigated another collision ahead of him, had switched on the truck’s hazard lights, according to CHP. —Debbie Truong, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2023

Those millions of vehicles will get an over the air software update to make their hazard lights more effective and receive digital alerts of hazards ahead. —Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 30 Mar. 2023

Ultimately, the system will stop the car in its lane, turn on hazard lights, and summon help via the OnStar phone connection. —IEEE Spectrum, 30 Mar. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above