headlights

IPA/ˈhed.laɪt/
KK[hˈɛdlˌaɪts]IPA/ˈhed.laɪt/

headlights — noun

1. the two strong lamps fixed on a car's front end, or on another road vehicle, so

1.nounB2
Definition

the two strong lamps fixed on a car's front end, or on another road vehicle, so drivers can see the road in darkness, fog, or heavy rain.

Example

Noa turned the headlights on before leaving the dark farm road.

collocation: turn on the headlights before driving in darkness

The taxi's headlights cut through the rain near the station.

context: headlights helping visibility in heavy rain

Common collocations
  • turn on the headlights
  • dip your headlights
  • flash your headlights
  • headlights on full beam
Synonyms
  • headlamps

    same built-in front lights; more common in British English

  • front lights

    broader and less fixed; can include other forward-facing lights

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

turn on the headlights

flash your headlights

headlights on full beam

Usage Note

Usually plural because most vehicles have a matching pair. If you mean one unit, English more often says 'a headlight' or, in British English, 'a headlamp'.

Common Mistakes

The cyclist fixed new headlights to his helmet.
The car's headlights lit the narrow road.
'headlights' usually means the built-in front lights of a vehicle, not a lamp worn on a person.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Headlights' and 'headlamps' usually mean the main front lights of a vehicle, but variety matters. In American English, 'headlights' is the everyday choice; in British English, 'headlamps' is also very common for the same built-in lights. 'Fog lights' are separate lower lights used in fog or heavy rain, not the main lights you normally drive with. 'High beams' are not another lamp at all; they are the stronger setting of the headlights, used when the road is dark and clear ahead. A driver might say, 'I switched on the headlights after sunset, then moved to high beams on the empty mountain road.'

headlights ↗headlamps ↗fog lightshigh beams ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • headlight beam
  • headlight switch

Phrases

  • turn on the headlights
  • dip your headlights
  • flash your headlights

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

This word combines 'head' and 'light'. In older transport language, the 'head' of a vehicle or machine meant its front part, so the word first referred to the lamp fixed there. It was used for lamps on carriages and early trains in the 1800s, and later became the usual name for the electric front lights on motor vehicles.

First known use

1845

1845, in the meaning defined at sense 1