Noun: lightning lIt-ning
- Abrupt electric discharge from cloud to cloud or from cloud to earth accompanied by the emission of light
"The lightning illuminated the night sky for a brief moment"
- The flash of light that accompanies an electric discharge in the atmosphere (or something resembling such a flash); can scintillate for a second or more
"The lightning illuminated the entire landscape for a brief moment"
Derived forms: lightnings
Type of: atmospheric electricity, flash
Encyclopedia: Lightning, the White Stallion