

a·light 1

intr.v. a·light·ed or a·lit (ə-lĭt′), a·light·ing, a·lights
1. To come down and settle, as after flight: "A swarm of black birds flew across the road and alighted in a pecan tree" (Ernest J. Gaines).
2. To get down, as from a vehicle; dismount: The queen alighted from the carriage.
3. To come by chance: alight on a happy solution.


a·light 2

1. Burning; lighted: The discarded match was still alight.
2. Illuminated: The sky was alight with millions of stars.

[Middle English, past participle of alighten, to set on fire, from Old English ālīhtan, to illuminate : ā-, intensive pref. + līhtan, to shine (from lēoht, a light; see light1).]

a·light′ adv.


vb (intr) , alights, alighting, alighted or alit
2. to come to rest; settle; land: a thrush alighted on the wall.
[Old English ālīhtan, from a-2 + līhtan to make less heavy, from līht light2]


adj, adv (postpositive)
1. burning; on fire
2. illuminated; lit up
[Old English ālīht lit up, from ālīhtan to light up; see light1]



v.i. a•light•ed a•lit, a•light•ing.
2. to settle or stay after descending; come to rest.
[before 1000; Middle English; Old English ālīhtan=ā- a-3 + līhtan to relieve (orig. an animal mount) of weight, light2]



adv., adj.
1. provided with light; lighted up.
2. on fire; burning.
[before 1000; now taken as a-1 + light1; orig. past participle of alight to light up (Middle English alihten, Old English onlīhtan=on- a-1 + līhtan to light1)]


If something is alight, it is burning.

The fire was safely alight.
A candle was alight on the chest of drawers.

To set something alight means to cause it to start burning.

...paraffin that had been poured on the ground and set alight.

Be Careful!
You do not use alight in front of a noun. You do not say, for example, 'People rushed out of the alight building'. You say 'People rushed out of the burning building'.


Past participle: alit/alighted
Gerund: alighting

I alight
you alight
he/she/it alights
we alight
you alight
they alight
I alit/alighted
you alit/alighted
he/she/it alit/alighted
we alit/alighted
you alit/alighted
they alit/alighted
Present Continuous
I am alighting
you are alighting
he/she/it is alighting
we are alighting
you are alighting
they are alighting
Present Perfect
I have alit/alighted
you have alit/alighted
he/she/it has alit/alighted
we have alit/alighted
you have alit/alighted
they have alit/alighted
Past Continuous
I was alighting
you were alighting
he/she/it was alighting
we were alighting
you were alighting
they were alighting
Past Perfect
I had alit/alighted
you had alit/alighted
he/she/it had alit/alighted
we had alit/alighted
you had alit/alighted
they had alit/alighted
I will alight
you will alight
he/she/it will alight
we will alight
you will alight
they will alight
Future Perfect
I will have alit/alighted
you will have alit/alighted
he/she/it will have alit/alighted
we will have alit/alighted
you will have alit/alighted
they will have alit/alighted
Future Continuous
I will be alighting
you will be alighting
he/she/it will be alighting
we will be alighting
you will be alighting
they will be alighting
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been alighting
you have been alighting
he/she/it has been alighting
we have been alighting
you have been alighting
they have been alighting
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been alighting
you will have been alighting
he/she/it will have been alighting
we will have been alighting
you will have been alighting
they will have been alighting
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been alighting
you had been alighting
he/she/it had been alighting
we had been alighting
you had been alighting
they had been alighting
I would alight
you would alight
he/she/it would alight
we would alight
you would alight
they would alight
Past Conditional
I would have alit/alighted
you would have alit/alighted
he/she/it would have alit/alighted
we would have alit/alighted
you would have alit/alighted
they would have alit/alighted
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.alight - to come to rest, settlealight - to come to rest, settle; "Misfortune lighted upon him"
2.alight - come downalight - come down; "the birds alighted"  
come down, descend, go down, fall - move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way; "The temperature is going down"; "The barometer is falling"; "The curtain fell on the diva"; "Her hand went up and then fell again"


1. get off, descend, get down, disembark, dismount Two men alighted from the vehicle.
2. land, light, settle, come down, descend, perch, touch down, come to rest A thrush alighted on a branch of the pine tree.
land rise, scale, mount, climb, go up, take off, soar, move up, ascend, lift off, fly up, float up


adjective lit up, bright, brilliant, shining, illuminated, fiery Her face was alight with happiness.
set alight set on fire, ignite, set ablaze, light, set burning, set aflame, set blazing, set flaming, set flaring The rioters set several buildings alight.

alight 1

To come to rest on the ground:
phrasal verb
alight on or upon
Archaic. To find or meet by chance:
bump into, chance on (or upon), come across, come on (or upon), find, happen on (or upon), light on (or upon), run across, run into, stumble on (or upon), tumble on.
Idiom: meet up with.

alight 2

On fire:
Idioms: in a blaze, in flames.
مُشْتَعِل، مَضْطَرِميَتَرَجَّل، يَنَزِل مِنيَحُطُّ
hořícípřistátsestoupitsnést sevystoupit
i brandlandestrålende
logandi, ljómandisetjaststíga út, fara niîur
zniesť sa


1 [əˈlaɪt] ADJ
1. (lit) to be alight [fire] → estar ardiendo; [lamp] → estar encendido or (LAm) prendido
to keep a fire alightmantener un fuego ardiendo
to set alightpegar fuego a, incendiar
2. (fig) alight with [+ happiness, enthusiasm] → resplandeciente de


2 [əˈlaɪt] VI
1. (from vehicle) → bajar, apearse (from de)
2. (on branch, etc) [bird, insect] → posarse (on sobre)
alight on VI + PREP [+ fact, idea] → caer en la cuenta de, darse cuenta de


(= lit) [match, fire] → allumé(e) (= on fire) [building, grass] → en feu
to set sth alight → mettre le feu à qch
to set o.s. alight → s'immoler par le feu
(fig) [eyes] → brillant(e); [face] → rayonnant(e)
to be alight with sth [+ excitement, pleasure, happiness, pride] [eyes] → briller de qch; [face] → rayonner de qch
to set sth alight (fig)enflammer qch
[passenger] → descendre; [bird] → se poser
to alight from sth → descendre de qch
to alight on [eyes] → se poser sur


1 (form)
(person)aussteigen (from aus); (from horse) → absitzen (from von)
(bird)sich niederlassen (→ on auf +dat); his eyes alighted on the ringsein Blick fiel auf den Ring
to alight on a fact/an idea etcauf ein Faktum/eine Idee etc stoßen


adj pred to be alight (fire)brennen; (building also)in Flammen stehen; to keep the fire alightdas Feuer in Gang halten; to set something alightetw in Brand setzen or stecken; her face was alight with pleasureihr Gesicht or sie glühte vor Freude


1 [əˈlaɪt] adj to be alight (building) → essere in fiamme; (fire) → essere acceso/a


2 [əˈlaɪt] vi (from vehicle) to alight (from)scendere (da); (bird) to alight (on)posarsi (su)


(əˈlait) past tense, past participle aˈlighted verb
1. to get down from or out of. to alight from a bus.
2. (with on) to settle or land on. The bird alighted on the fence.


(əˈlait) adjective
burning; very bright. The bonfire was still alight; His eyes were alight with joy.
References in classic literature ?
The chariot halted at her door, and though the Princess had read of such beneficent personages, she never dreamed for an instant that one of them could ever alight at her cottage.
Now Umslopogaas glanced up at the stone face of her who sat aloft, and it was alight with the sunset.
As soon as it was alight, he threw on it a handful of perfumes, and pronounced a few words that I did not understand, and immediately a thick column of smoke rose high into the air.