What does "lightning" mean?

1. (extremely fast) moving or happening very quickly. 2. (to produce flashes) to have flashes of lightning in the sky. 3. (gin) an old, informal word for gin.

lightning

adj. · v. · n.

US //ˈɫaɪtnɪŋ// UK //lˈaɪtnɪŋ// light·ning

1 extremely fast (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

moving or happening very quickly.

characterised by extreme speed or suddenness; often used metaphorically to describe reactions or movements.

Example

The boxer had lightning reflexes and avoided every punch.

Example

The company responded with lightning speed to the market crash, liquidating its most volatile assets before the end of the trading day.
- slow
- sluggish
2 to produce flashes (v.)
B1 Intermediate Informal

to have flashes of lightning in the sky.

to emit or produce lightning; used as an impersonal verb similar to 'it is raining'.

Example

It started to thunder and lightning just as we reached the car.

Example

The children were frightened because it had been lightning for over an hour without any sign of the storm passing.

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3 gin (n.)
C2 Proficiency Archaic Slang

an old, informal word for gin.

a slang term for gin or strong spirits.

Example

The old sailor sat in the corner with a glass of blue lightning.

Example

In the nineteenth-century underworld, 'lightning' was a common cant term for the cheap, potent gin sold in urban slums.
- gin
- spirits

Origin

From light(e)n + -ing. Doublet of lightening.

Idioms4 entries