cold light

American

noun

light emitted by a source that is not incandescent, as from a firefly.

cold light British

noun

light emitted at low temperatures from a source that is not incandescent, such as fluorescence, phosphorescence, bioluminescence, or triboluminescence

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cold light

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"In the cold light of day England were taken apart from minute one to minute 80. Scotland were miles better."

From BBC

In the cold light of day, it can be argued England beat the teams they should have beaten anyway.

From BBC

“It’s about being unfiltered, speaking directly to the people of San Francisco,” the mayor said as he walked along the city’s waterfront last month after one of many stops, holding an umbrella against a cold, light rain.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I would be fairly confident that most of those young people, in the cold light of day, in sobriety watching those videos will be mortified.”

From BBC

They called on God to stop gun violence as they stood in the cold, light rain.

From Seattle Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023