alights

present tense third-person singular of alight
1
as in perches
to come to rest after descending from the air a flock of eight swans circled above, then alighted on the pond

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in descends
to come down from something (as a vehicle) as she alighted from the train, she momentarily lost her footing

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of alights As pleasure-seeking Venus alights within your 5th House of Self-Expression, fun projects sparkle, and your spirited humor invites others to join a playful challenge. — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 6 Mar. 2026 But before the action alights in the location of the latest dispute between adjacent property owners to catch the eye of directors Harrison Fishman and Dylan Redford (yes, grandson of Robert), the shot fills with the telltale red, white and blue of the American flag. — Alison Herman, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026 Cash, an editor at Forever Magazine, has written a first novel that alights on plenty of hot topics without seeming limited by them. — Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alights
Verb
  • At the top of the hill, in a completely different style, perches the Neoclassical royal palace.
    — Benjamin Moser, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Live streams from entertainment events like the Grammys or Golden Globes aren’t typically perches for controversy, but, says Anthony McCartney, AP’s entertainment and lifestyles editor, celebrities will sometimes be asked to weigh in on recent headlines.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 16 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Dawn breaks over the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii as the Starship, now out of the re-entry heating zone, descends toward splashdown looking none the worse for the wear.
    — William Harwood, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Beneath it, museumgoers line up to drop a ball into a teak ramp that descends down the length of the Guggenheim spiral.
    — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • This was never quite fair — the New York dynasty of the late ’90s was driven by smart drafting and patient prospect development, not pricey free agents — but the joke still lands.
    — Will Leitch, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Unless the contract says otherwise, the cost of the new plant lands on the rest of us.
    — Mark McNees, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Suffering from a broken rib and sinus infection, Remco Evenepoel hands his bidon to a child on the roadside and dismounts his bike.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 2 July 2026
Verb
  • Hoping to make his way back to his brother, Håkan disembarks in California and immediately heads East, against the flow of all the homesteaders and forty-niners streaming West.
    — Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Former President Bill Clinton disembarks a jet at Islamabad International Airport in March 2000.
    — Tiago Ventura, Time, 12 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Alights.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alights. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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