streetlight

streetlight — noun

1. a tall post with a lamp at the top, placed beside a road or in a public area so

1.nounA2
Definition

a tall post with a lamp at the top, placed beside a road or in a public area so that people can see clearly at night

Example

Camille waited under the streetlight for her ride home.

collocation: under + streetlight

The streetlight on Oak Avenue flickered and went dark.

verb collocations: flicker, go dark

Common collocations
  • turn on / off the streetlight
  • streetlight flickers / glows / shines
  • under a streetlight
  • between streetlights
  • tall streetlight
  • dim streetlight
Synonyms
  • streetlamp

    slightly more formal or old-fashioned but otherwise identical in meaning

  • lamp post

    technically the pole; often used for the whole fixture in British English

  • light

    generic; works when context makes the meaning clear, e.g. 'the light on the corner'

Usage Note

Commonly used with 'under' to describe position near a streetlight, and with 'turn on/off', 'come on', 'go out' to describe its function. 'Streetlamp' is a less frequent synonym.

Common Mistakes

She parked her bike next to the flashlight.
She parked her bike next to the streetlight.
A 'flashlight' is a small hand-held battery light; a 'streetlight' is a tall outdoor post light.
The lamppost was too dim to read by.
The streetlight was too dim to read by.
While 'lamppost' refers to the pole itself, 'streetlight' is the usual word for the whole lighting unit.

Word family

  • streetlamp
    nounB1
  • lamppost
    nounB1
  • light pole
    nounB1
  • street
    nounA1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Streetlight' and 'streetlamp' refer to the same object, but 'streetlamp' has a slightly more formal or literary tone and is less common in everyday speech. 'Lamppost' (or 'lamp post') technically names the vertical pole that supports the light, yet in casual British English it is often used to mean the whole lighting unit. In American English, 'light pole' is also common. For everyday situations — waiting under a light, noticing one that is broken — 'streetlight' is the clearest and most neutral choice. For example: 'The streetlight outside my window keeps me awake' sounds natural, while 'the streetlamp outside my window' feels slightly poetic, and 'the lamppost' might make a reader picture the pole itself.

streetlamplamppostlamp post

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • under the streetlight
  • from one streetlight to the next
  • the glow of a streetlight

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld EnglishEnglish

A compound of 'street' (from Old English 'strǝt', a paved road, borrowed from Latin 'strāta') and 'light' (from Old English 'lēoht', brightness or illumination). The word came into use in the 1700s when cities began installing public gas lamps on roads. Earlier terms like 'lamppost' and 'streetlamp' are attested from the 1600s, but 'streetlight' became common with the spread of electric street lighting in the late 1800s.