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# lightbulb

«lightbulb» in Mova's school dictionary: **a glass or plastic bulb that gives out light when…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a lightbulb, lightbulbs)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A lightbulb is a glass or plastic bulb that gives out light when electricity goes through it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightbulb/#m1)

2) (informal) A «lightbulb moment» is a sudden moment when you understand something or have a great idea. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightbulb/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

Science: electric circuits, energy saving (LED bulbs use less energy than old filament bulbs); history: Thomas Edison and Joseph Swan. Cartoons: a lightbulb over someone's head means an idea. Safety: let bulbs cool before touching and switch off before changing.

### examples

- The lightbulb in my bedroom has gone. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightbulb/#x1)
- LED lightbulbs save energy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightbulb/#x2)
- Switch off before you change a lightbulb. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightbulb/#x3)
- Edison and Swan both worked on the lightbulb. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightbulb/#x4)
- I had a lightbulb moment and solved the puzzle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightbulb/#x5)
- In the circuit, the lightbulb lit up when we closed the switch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightbulb/#x6)

### note

Also «light bulb» (two words). Plural: lightbulbs. Myth: Edison did not invent the first bulb; many people worked on it.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «lightbulb» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightbulb/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.