alights

present tense third-person singular of alight
1
as in perches
to come to rest after descending from the air a flock of eight swans circled above, then alighted on the pond

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2
as in descends
to come down from something (as a vehicle) as she alighted from the train, she momentarily lost her footing

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for alights
Verb
  • The Ringed Kingfisher perches up to 30 feet above the surface, watching for medium-size fish and then plunging in headfirst with a mighty splash.
    Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
  • And frequent appearances by a pigeon that perches on her windowsill like a Greek chorus, mocking her self-abasement and growing detachment from reality, seem a tad heavy-handed.
    Book Marks August 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The chain is routed through the center of the buoy, passes over a gypsy wheel, and descends again, while excess chain hangs freely to accommodate movement.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Slide Away then descends on Los Angeles’ Hollywood Palladium on May 29 and 30 with Cryogeyser, Mint Field, Ovlov, Seko, and Terraplana rounding out the lineup.
    Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Based on Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel of the same name, the original film followed Andy Sachs (Hathaway), a journalism graduate who moves to New York City and lands a very demanding job as junior assistant to Miranda Priestly (Streep), editor-in-chief of a high-fashion magazine.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
  • One of the Gallowglass men lands an arrow in Murtagh’s leg, but Brian manages to shoot a fatal arrow in to that guy.
    Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 10 Oct. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Alights.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alights. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.

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