ball lightning

noun

: a rare form of lightning consisting of luminous balls that may move along solid objects or float in the air

Examples of ball lightning in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Earliest report of ball lightning in England discovered Nature. —Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 19 Sep. 2024

Scientists, however, remain unable to explain the sightings or even verify that ball lightning exists. —Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010

When amplified, its ball lightning attack pulses three times instead of just once. —Paul Tassi, Forbes, 18 Aug. 2022

With all this information at hand, Hughes drew a potential connection between green fireballs—which can be caused by fast-moving meteors—and ball lightning. —Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2022

Just like normal lightning, ball lightning seems to occur primarily during thunderstorms. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 5 Feb. 2022

And like Gervase of Canterbury, Gregory of Tours seems to have written about ball lightning. —Kiona N. Smith, Forbes, 1 Feb. 2022

Like ball lightning, earthquake lights are relatively rare—captivating but hard for scientists to explain. —Christina Nunez, National Geographic, 16 Apr. 2019

One thought is that ball lightning’s victims may continue to exist in a quantum state—like ghosts, in fact, trying to communicate. —Tom Shippey, WSJ, 16 Aug. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above