arc light

[ ahrk lahyt ]

noun

1. Also arc lamp. a lamp in which the light source is a high-intensity electric arc either between carbon rods in air or between metal electrodes in a xenon gas atmosphere enclosed in a quartz bulb.
2. the light produced by such a lamp.

arc light

noun

1. a light source in which an arc between two electrodes, usually carbon, produces intense white illumination Also calledarc lamp

Word History and Origins

Origin of arc light¹

An Americanism dating back to 1875–80

Example Sentences

Wrote The Post: “The size of this throng, he believes, is a criterion of the game’s drawing power under the arc lights.”

From Washington Post

And the television arc lights never went out.

From The Guardian

If he enjoyed being silly on the screen, Mr. Connery was darker and more complex when the arc lights were turned off.

From New York Times

Signals on the tracks told trains not to proceed, with warnings from hot arc lights with red glass covers.

From Salon

Any hint of holiness is wrecked by a rainstorm, and by the glare of the arc lights under which TV cameras hope to catch the miracle, yet Fellini does not rage at our credulity.

From The New Yorker