white lightning

Definition of white lightningnext
as in alcohol
illegally produced liquor college students secretly mixing up a batch of white lightning in the school lab

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of white lightning One, the stereotype is as dated as Moon Pies and white lightning. Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 11 June 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for white lightning
Noun
  • State police have arrested a man in connection with a fatal head-on crash in Middlefield last August after investigators found that his blood alcohol content was allegedly more than twice the legal limit.
    Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Younger generations drink less alcohol in general and are less likely to choose wine.
    Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • In response, the town shifted its marketing to late-night booze-ups and wedding parties (known, in British parlance, as stag dos and hen dos), and subsequently grew a reputation as a sandcastle Sodom.
    George Francis Lee, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Wallace and his partners would simply walk in the stores, grab bottles of booze and walk out without paying, BSO spokeswoman Claudinne Caro said.
    David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • From that point on, offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase called play-action bootlegs and other rollouts that enabled Simpson to find receivers, many of them wide open.
    Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Whereas Marvel Tokon looks unforgettable, Wolverine's bland stab at realism looks like little more than another boring bootleg movie.
    Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“White lightning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/white%20lightning. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster