noun

lighter

LEYE-tuh

noun

A small handheld device that produces a flame, used to light cigarettes, candles, and so on.

"He flicked the lighter but it wouldn't catch."

A flat-bottomed barge used to move cargo over short distances, often to or from a larger ship.

"The lighter ferried crates from the freighter to the dock."

verb

To transfer cargo between a ship and the shore or another vessel using a barge.

"They lightered the oil tanker to reduce its draft."

How to Use Lighter

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishMost often a small flame-producing device for lighting cigarettes — but also, less commonly, a cargo barge.

Common pairings

flick a lighter cigarette lighter

lightered past tense, lighters plural, lighters plural, lighters singular

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Can you complete this real example?

He flicked the _____ but it wouldn't catch.

The device sense comes from light ("to ignite") + -er; the boat sense comes from a separate root meaning "to unload" or lighten a ship's cargo.

fighter blighter freighter gunfighter straighter firefighter Starfighter bullfighter