Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Origin: lighten 'to become less dark'

lightning

1 noun
     
Related topics: Nature
light‧ning1 [uncountable]
1DN a powerful flash of light in the sky caused by electricity and usually followed by thunder:
Two farmworkers were struck by lightning (=hit by lightning).
2

like lightning

extremely quickly:
Mitch moved like lightning and caught the little girl before she fell.
3

lightning never strikes twice

something bad or unpleasant is not likely to happen to the same people or in the same place twice
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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