Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use alight in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, adjective, adverb

Alight means to make less heavy; to lighten; to alleviate, to relieve. Example: “He alighted from his horse.”

Examples of alight by meaning

verbOften followed by from or off: to get off an animal which one has been riding; to dismount; to descend or exit from a...

  • He alighted from his horse.
  • Passengers are alighting from the carriage.
  • That, combined with the fact that I alight with only four or five other passengers, is a sad reminder of how most people continue to choose to travel to this far-flung corner of the UK.2021 November 3, Paul Stephen, “As Far North as You Can Go … to Thurso”, in Rail, number 943, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media...

verbOften followed by at, on, or upon: of something aloft: to descend and settle; to land, to lodge, to rest.

  • A flying bird alights upon a tree.
  • Snow alights on a roof.

adjectiveBurning, lit, on fire.

  • The burning embers and the dry wind quickly set the whole neighbourhood alight.
  • The sticks were damp and wouldn’t catch alight.
  • If a train enters the forward section before its description has been transmitted, a "not described" lamp is illuminated on the transmitter, an alarm buzzer is sounded, and the lamp remains alight until a description has been transmitted.1955 March, “Train Describers at Euston”, in Railway Magazine, page 170

adjectiveAglow with activity or emotion.

  • Her face was alight with happiness.

More sentences with alight

  • On alighting at the station, we were all herded over the footbridge and through a side exit.From the entry herd
  • He stopped the carriage and alighted.From the entry alighted
  • Summer holidays: 'Staycationers' alight at London Paddington from a full train from the West Country.2021 December 29, “Our railway from behind the lens...”, in RAIL, number 947, page 38, photo caption. From the entry jam-packed
  • Galena turned to look at them, her face alight with the glow the Sword of Lumina provided.2015, Erin Elliott, Mira's Last (young adult fantasy), page 35. From the entry in one's tracks
  • When the balls are replaced by wicks soaked in gasoline and set alight, the poi ‘spin fire’.2013, Catriona Rainsford, The Urban Circus: Travels with Mexico's Malabaristas, Bradt Travel Guides, →ISBN, page 18. From the entry poi
  • Not just 'saman' kings: Kind parking warden helps old woman alight from taxi.2013 November 9, Mark, “Not just ‘saman’ kings: Kind parking warden helps old woman alight from taxi”, in stomp.sg, archived from the…. From the entry saman
  • A bird 'kackling' while alighting may be ignored or greeted in return with weak 'kackles' and headjerks.2012, Joseph Michael Forshaw, Mark Shephard, Grassfinches in Australia, page 167. From the entry kackle
  • He looked over his shoulder at Janice, bloodless face alight with faith and fervor.2005, Mary Jo Putney, MaryJanice Davidson, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Patricia Rice, Susan Grant, Gena Showalter, PC Cast, Alesia Holliday…. From the entry beastkeeper
  • The Holy Ghost alights on Mary's crowned head, and all but she have crossed haloes.2004, Scriptoria in Medieval Saxony: St. Pancras in Hamersleben, page 142. From the entry quinity
  • When they returned, Jade's cheeks were abloom, her eyes alight with anticipation.1997, Ruth Langan, chapter 1, in Jade. From the entry abloom
  • "I didn't set the world alight on my first day, and look at me now.1988, David Nobbs, Pratt of the Argus. From the entry set the world alight
  • Unlike most seabirds, frigatebirds are not able to alight on the water.1987, J. P. Croxall, Seabirds: Feeding Ecology and Role in Marine Ecosystems, page 58. From the entry frigatebird
  • A dentiroster alights and sings on the branch of the plum tree.1985, Gioconda Belli, Marc Zimmerman, Nicaragua in Reconstruction & at War: The People Speak : a Collage of Chronology, Analysis, Poetry…. From the entry dentiroster
  • I and my new boy alighted here with our luggage and our outfit for a new expedition.1924, Frits Holm, My Nestorian Adventure In China: A Popular Account of the Holm-Nestorian Expedition to Sian-Fu and Its Results…. From the entry Chengchow
  • Elizabeth, her eyes alight, ran swiftly past the gate towards her father.1910, Mary Esther Miller MacGregor, Lizbeth of the Dale. From the entry treachersome
  • Jemima alighted rather heavily, and began to waddle about in search of a convenient dry nesting-place.1908, Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, New York: Frederick Warne & Co. From the entry foxglove
  • It was alone, nervously alighting and flying short distances along the surf.1900, Joseph Grinnell, Birds of the Kotzebue Sound Region, Alaska, page 12. From the entry surf
  • A handful of passengers alight, but not too many board - certainly not enough to warrant eight cars.2025 October 15, 'Mystery Shopper', “About Anglia... and high scores”, in RAIL, number 1046, page 53. From the entry warrant
  • Frustrated residents tied the hands of two suspected criminals, put tyres around their necks and then set them alight.May 29 2003, The Star. From the entry necklace
  • Many bees warped and spun about us, and some even alighted on Grandfather's bare head, or on his neck.1941, Harper's Magazine, volume 184, page 421. From the entry warp
  • In pursuit of this aim, he alighted upon what we might characterize as a super-metaphor: the idea that “all theories are metaphorical.”2016, Anders Örtenblad, Kiran Trehan, Linda L. Putnam, Exploring Morgan’s Metaphors, →ISBN. From the entry supermetaphor
  • Though the scramble of Thomians alighted a platformful of clerks was waiting to got on, so I didn't even try for a seat.1993, Gāmini Salgādo, The True Paradise, page 79. From the entry platformful
  • Pooley's eyes suddenly alighted upon a half empty bag of cement which lay among a few unused red flettons in the corner of the patio.1981, Robert Rankin, The Antipope. From the entry fletton
  • In Paris it is said to create a small sensation in the neighborhood when a fair damsel hobble-skirted alights from her carriage or automobile.1910 July 2, “Some Phases of the Hobble Skirt”, in Muncie Evening Press, volume X, number 234, Muncie, Ind., page five. From the entry hobble-skirted
  • One could keep a fire alight more easily at a level above the mist-belt; one could, if necessary, survive, and bed down on bracken from these lower woodlands.2015, Muriel Spark, Robinson, →ISBN. From the entry mist-belt
  • Again it is said that the tara (tern) alighted on the new land at Tahunatapu, the first part to emerge from the sea, and was followed by other birds.2004, Alexander Wyclif Reed, Ross Calman, Reed Book of Maori Mythology, Raupo. From the entry tara
  • Contactless smart card readers can be mounted at each door of an LRT car, allowing a rider to “tag on” and “tag off” on boarding and alighting the vehicle.2003, Daniel Fleishman, United States. Federal Transit Administration, National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board…. From the entry tag on
  • The yellow beer, the light shantung suit and the gleaming white teeth were all alight with the trembling silver reflections that sprang from the sunlight on the water.1963, H. E. Bates, “Major of Hussars”, in Seven by Five. From the entry shantung
  • His eyes were as restless as his limbs, and seemed ever to be seeking for something upon which they could definitely alight, and not finding it.1914, Arnold Bennett, The Price of Love. From the entry eructation
  • Someone found a pick and levered a burst plank out of the floor, and in a few minutes we had got a fire alight and our drenched clothes were steaming.1938 April, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter VII, in Homage to Catalonia, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC. From the entry lever
  • Ruddey made two on a crossback and Reddey was forced along for one., after which Hachah decided to punt, which he did forthwith, the ball alighting in Hart 's arms.1906, The Lafayette Weekly - Volume 33, page 33. From the entry crossback

Meaning of alight

  1. verb To make less heavy; to lighten; to alleviate, to relieve.
  2. verb Often followed by from or off: to get off an animal which one has been riding; to dismount; to descend or exit from a vehicle; hence, to complete one's journey; to stop.
  3. verb Often followed by at, on, or upon: of something aloft: to descend and settle; to land, to lodge, to rest.

Full definition of alight

Questions about alight in a sentence

How do you use alight in a sentence?
Alight is used as a verb, adjective and adverb. For example: “He alighted from his horse.”
What is a short sentence with alight?
“He alighted from his horse.”
What does alight mean?
Alight means to make less heavy; to lighten; to alleviate, to relieve.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: alight (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use alight in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/alight. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.