lightning

B2 · Upper Intermediate

adj. happening very quickly or suddenly.

adj. characterised by extreme speed or suddenness; typically used in a figurative sense to describe actions or reactions.

“The boxer had lightning reflexes and avoided every punch.”

“The company responded with lightning speed to the PR crisis, issuing a full apology within minutes of the incident.”

B1 · Intermediate

v. when the sky produces flashes of electricity during a storm.

v. to emit or produce lightning; used impersonally with 'it' as the subject.

“It started to thunder and lightning while we were walking home.”

“It had been lightning on the horizon for hours before the actual storm front reached the coastal town.”

C2 · Proficiency Uncountable noun Archaic · Slang · British English

n. an old, informal word for gin.

n. a slang term for gin, particularly of a cheap or potent variety.

“The old sailor sat in the corner of the pub drinking a glass of lightning.”

“In the gritty novels of the Victorian era, characters often sought refuge from their misery in a bottle of white lightning.”