alight (up)on someone or something

alight (up)on someone or something
alight (up)on someone or something
to land on something; [for a bird or other flying animal] to come to rest on something. (

Upon

is more formal than

on

.) •

A small bird alighted on the branch directly over my head.

It alighted upon the branch and began to sing.


Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • alight — a|light1 [əˈlaıt] adj [not before noun] [Date: 1400 1500; Origin: Probably from a + light] 1.) burning ▪ The car was set alight and pushed over a hill. 2.) literary someone whose face or eyes are alight looks excited, happy, etc alight with… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • alight — [[t]əla͟ɪt[/t]] alights, alighting, alighted 1) ADJ: v n ADJ, v link ADJ If something is alight, it is burning. Several buildings were set alight... The gas fire was still alight. Syn: ablaze 2) ADJ: v link ADJ, oft ADJ with n If someone s eyes… …   English dictionary

  • alight — a|light1 [ ə laıt ] adjective never before noun 1. ) LITERARY if someone s face or eyes are alight, their expression shows a feeling such as excitement or happiness 2. ) LITERARY bright or shining 3. ) MAINLY BRITISH burning: set something alight …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • alight — I UK [əˈlaɪt] / US adjective [never before noun] 1) burning set something alight: Dozens of cars were set alight. 2) literary if someone s face or eyes are alight, their expression shows a feeling such as excitement or happiness 3) literary… …   English dictionary

  • alight — 1 adjective (not before noun) 1 burning: set sth alight: Several cars were set alight by rioters. 2 someone whose face or eyes are alight is excited and happy 3 bright with light or colour 2 verb (I) formal 1 if a bird or insect alights on… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • set — set1 W1S1 [set] v past tense and past participle set present participle setting ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(put)¦ 2¦(put into surface)¦ 3¦(story)¦ 4¦(consider)¦ 5¦(establish something)¦ 6¦(start something happening)¦ 7¦(decide something)¦ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • world — world1 W1S1 [wə:ld US wə:rld] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(our planet/everyone on it)¦ 2 in the world 3¦(the society we live in)¦ 4¦(group of countries )¦ 5¦(time in history)¦ 6¦(somebody s life and experiences)¦ 7¦(area of activity/work)¦… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • set — 1 /set/ verb past tense and past participle set PUT DOWN 1 PUT (transitive always + adv/prep) to carefully put something down somewhere, especially something that is difficult to carry: set sth down/on etc: She set the tray down on a table next… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • set — set1 verb (sets, setting; past and past participle set) 1》 put, lay, or stand (something) in a specified place or position.     ↘(be set) be situated in a specified place or position.     ↘represent (a story) as happening at a specified time or… …   English new terms dictionary

  • light — 1 /laIt/ noun 1 NATURAL/ARTIFICIAL LIGHT a) (U) the energy from the sun, a flame, a lamp etc that allows you to see things: the morning light streaming in through the windows | We could see a tiny glimmer of light in the distance. |… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • burn — burn1 W3S2 [bə:n US bə:rn] v past tense and past participle burnt [bə:nt US bə:rnt] or burned ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(produce flames and heat)¦ 2¦(destroy something with fire)¦ 3¦(injure/kill somebody with fire)¦ 4¦(sun)¦ 5¦(food)¦ 6¦(chemicals)¦ 7¦(fuel)¦ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”