sidelight

noun

side·​light ˈsīd-ˌlīt How to pronounce sidelight (audio)
1
a
: light coming or produced from the side
b
: incidental light or information
2
: the red light on the port bow or the green light on the starboard bow carried by ships underway at night

Example Sentences

The book includes some amusing sidelights about his childhood.
Recent Examples on the Web Also, a sidelight of curiosity is that Duchess of Cambridge (formerly Kate Middleton) has a maternal grandmother who comes from a lineage of laborers and miners. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 29 Apr. 2011 He is fundamentally steeped in ants, and people are a sidelight. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 30 Mar. 2013 Magnetic sidelight blockers, which ship in the kit, will turn it into a fully immersive heads-up display. Lauren Goode, WIRED, 11 Oct. 2022 Occupying the museum’s eighth floor, the array provides a sidelight (or prequel) to the Whitney’s selection of touchstone pieces from its collection, dating from 1900 to 1965, on the seventh floor. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 6 June 2022 The dispute over the Republicans' attorneys was a sidelight to a larger fight over where to put the lines. Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2022 American Oversight's records lawsuits are a sidelight to a broader legal fight over Gableman's work. Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 31 Dec. 2021 Regardless, the wrangling over obscure parliamentary proceedings remains a sidelight to the larger dynamic of the Build Back Better Act. San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Oct. 2021 The craft is a sidelight for Crawford, 43, a cybersecurity analyst who works for the Army at Fort Meade. Mike Klingaman, baltimoresun.com, 19 Aug. 2021 See More

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

Word History

First Known Use

1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of sidelight was in 1610

Dictionary Entries Near sidelight

Cite this Entry

“Sidelight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sidelight. Accessed 25 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

sidelight

noun
side·​light -ˌlīt How to pronounce sidelight (audio)
1
: light from the side
2
: incidental or extra information
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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