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lantern

noun · verb · adjective

Simple meaning

A case of translucent or transparent material made to protect a flame, or light, used to illuminate its surroundings.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

lantern

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈlæntɚn

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A case of translucent or transparent material made to protect a flame, or light, used to illuminate its surroundings.

  2. theater

    Especially, a metal casing with lens used to illuminate a stage (e.g. spotlight, floodlight).

  3. architecture

    An open structure of light material set upon a roof, to give light and air to the interior.

verb

  1. transitive

    To furnish with a lantern.

adjective

  1. Of a facial feature, large and squarish in shape as an old-fashioned lantern.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A case of translucent or transparent material made to protect a flame, or light, used to illuminate its surroundings.

Used this way, lantern is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use lantern

  • “We used a battery-powered lantern to light up our campsite at night.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

lantern slidelantern festivalmagic lanterndark lanternred lanterngreen lanternkerosene lanternpaper lantern

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • lantern-flynounCompound term

    Large brightly marked tropical insect with a process like a snout that was formerly thought to emit light.

  • lantern jawnounCompound term

    A long thin lower jaw.

  • lantern pinionnounCompound term

    A small pinion having cylindrical bars instead of teeth, used chiefly in inexpensive clocks.

  • lantern slidenounCompound term

    A transparency mounted in a frame.

  • lantern wheelnounCompound term

    A small pinion having cylindrical bars instead of teeth, used chiefly in inexpensive clocks.

  • chinese lantern plantnounCompound term

    Old World perennial cultivated for its ornamental inflated papery orange-red calyx.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.