highlighter

[ hahy-lahy-ter ]

noun

1. a felt-tip pen with a wide nib for highlighting passages of printed material in a soft, transparent color.
2. a cosmetic powder or cream applied to the face in places where light would naturally hit, as the cheeks, forehead, chin, and center of the nose, to create a glowing effect.

highlighter

/ ˈhaɪˌlaɪtə /

noun

1. a cosmetic cream or powder applied to the face to highlight the cheekbones, eyes, etc
2. a fluorescent felt-tip pen used as a marker to emphasize a section of text without obscuring it

Word History and Origins

Origin of highlighter¹

First recorded in 1965–70; highlight + -er ¹( def )

Example Sentences

“Not only is she from California, she’s from the Bay Area. There’s no purpose to be served for her by putting a yellow highlighter on that. I wouldn’t put him on the road.”

From Los Angeles Times

Overcome by a “huge wave of inspiration”, she now says, she pulled out her mini Jack Wills diary and wrote in pink highlighter:

From BBC

And that’s what I was interested in as a young actor — like, how much can I use this highlighter?

From Los Angeles Times

With the yarn in one hand and a crochet hook in the other, she intricately worked in more of the neon pink, highlighter yellow and tortoise blue that she’d hand-dyed in her kitchen.

From Los Angeles Times

“I mean, he had this big binder with different pens, different colors, highlighters. He just went to the nth degree and so I was like, ‘Wow.’

From Los Angeles Times