Meanings
-
1
noun
A bright flash of light in the sky during a storm, caused by electricity.
The lightning lit up the whole sky for a moment.
-
2
adj
Extremely fast or sudden.
The runner made a lightning start off the blocks.
Thesaurus
Word family
Forms
lightnings
Derived forms
lightning-quicklightninglikelightninglylightningproofsuperlightning
Etymology
From light(e)n + -ing. Doublet of lightening.