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# lightning

«lightning» in Mova's school dictionary: **The bright flash of light in the sky during a storm, made…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (lightning — uncountable; a flash/bolt of lightning)

### meaning for a pupil

1) The bright flash of light in the sky during a storm, made by a huge spark of electricity between clouds or between a cloud and the ground. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightning/#m1)

2) Very fast: «as quick as lightning», «lightning speed». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightning/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science: lightning is static electricity; it heats the air so fast that the air bangs — that sound is thunder; light travels faster than sound, so you see lightning before you hear thunder. Count seconds between flash and bang and divide by 3 for about kilometres away (by 5 for miles). In safety: when thunder roars, go indoors; avoid tall trees, open fields, water and metal; lightning can strike the same place twice. Phrases: a flash of lightning, a bolt of lightning, struck by lightning, thunder and lightning, lightning fast.

### examples

- We saw lightning over the hills. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightning/#x1)
- Lightning comes before thunder because light is faster than sound. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightning/#x2)
- The tree was struck by lightning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightning/#x3)
- Go inside when you hear thunder. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightning/#x4)
- Don't stand under a tall tree during lightning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightning/#x5)
- She ran as quick as lightning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightning/#x6)
- I counted 6 seconds after the flash, so the storm was about 2 km away. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightning/#x7)
- Thunder and lightning scared the dog. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightning/#x8)
- Gleams of lightning shot forth from them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lightning/#x9)

### note

No e: «lightning», not «lightening» (lightening means making lighter). Uncountable: «a flash of lightning», not «a lightning». Myth: lightning never strikes twice — false; tall buildings are struck many times. In maths: seconds ÷ 3 ≈ kilometres away; seconds ÷ 5 ≈ miles.

### In the corpora

- [Lightning and glowing signs contain plasma, a fourth state: gas so hot or charged that its atoms lose electrons.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/4-solids-liquids-and-gases/17/)
- [Nature makes glass too, when lightning strikes sand or lava cools very fast.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/30-glass-and-pottery/4/)
- [Lightning striking sand can melt it into glass tubes called fulgurites; volcanoes make a natural black glass called obsidian.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/30-glass-and-pottery/11/)
- [Lightning is a giant electric spark; thunder is the sound of the air around it heated so fast that it bursts outward.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/15-weather-signs/1/)
- [Tall, dark, towering thunderclouds can bring lightning, heavy rain, hail and strong wind.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/15-weather-signs/8/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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