How to Use like (greased) lightning in a Sentence

like (greased) lightning

idiom
  • In China, the shock of her rise was felt like lightning.
    Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2021
  • Like any great Hum track, the streaky, melodic guitar leads strike through the mix like lightning in a hurricane.
    Alex Suskind, EW.com, 27 June 2020
  • An idea that struck the room, like lightning, was basically what’s now True Price.
    Christopher Marquis, Forbes, 11 Aug. 2022
  • During the final chorus of the song, dozens of drones came out on stage, lit up and flying around like lightning bugs on a summer evening.
    Hank Shteamer, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2021
  • And every blip of the throttle strikes your nervous system like lightning.
    Georg Kacher, Car and Driver, 27 Sep. 2022
  • Reno: People start more wildfires that burn more acres in the state than natural events like lightning.
    From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 19 May 2022
  • Outside, a red light flashes in the dark sky, like lightning; it is followed not by rain but by rubble that pounds the roofs of houses around us.
    Mosab Abu Toha, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
  • Life could pick up its pace today, so events might start happening at what feels like lightning speed.
    Tarot Astrologers, chicagotribune.com, 28 Dec. 2021
  • Then, behind those wide eyes, something like lightning flashed.
    Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2023
  • The singer posted a video Wednesday on Instagram of what looked like lightning outside the plane window.
    Joseph Pisani, wsj.com, 23 Mar. 2022
  • That fandom struck like lightning, staying with him, and has never wavered.
    Marc Bona, cleveland, 26 Oct. 2022
  • Gold rush fever spread like lightning across the country, and the West Coast was inundated with fortune hunters impatient for their ride north, their chance at the goldfields.
    David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 25 June 2023
  • However, the snake is very fast, strikes like lightning and with great accuracy, gives multiple bites, and does not give dry bites.
    David E. Petzal, Field & Stream, 30 June 2020
  • After all, says Chanin, brilliance doesn’t always strike like lightning but stems from micro-steps and consistent habits.
    Sara Youngblood Gregory, refinery29.com, 20 July 2023
  • Plasma accounts for natural phenomena like lightning or the aurora; the sun is a giant burning ball of it.
    Amit Katwala, Wired, 15 Nov. 2021
  • The human element: Fires can be triggered by natural causes like lightning strikes, which sparked the giant Bay Area wildfire complexes of 2020.
    Kellie Hwang, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 June 2021
  • Intensely bright beams of color emanate like lasers from the reflective centers of the canvases like lightning bolts of inspiration.
    Eva Rothenberg, CNN, 16 Apr. 2023
  • By burying power lines, the wires will be protected from common outage causes, like lightning, high winds, tornadoes, heavy snow, ice and falling tree limbs, according to Consumers.
    Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press, 4 Mar. 2024
  • Remember when a 24-year-old Christian Bale wowed onlookers with this red carpet look featuring a shimmering sweep of silver eyeshadow that struck like lightning across his face?
    Leah Dolan, CNN, 20 Mar. 2023
  • Paxton attracts controversy like lightning to a lightning rod.
    Dallas News, 19 Jan. 2023
  • And many scientists were skeptical, speculating that mundane sources like lightning strikes or even microwave ovens created the signal.
    Eric Betz, Discover Magazine, 4 Nov. 2020
  • You just get hit by this music like lightning without knowing any backstory or cultural reference points, and you’re instantly converted.
    Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 2 Oct. 2023
  • Pasek and a team of researchers have studied this new material and how high-energy events like lightning strikes can lead to these reactions, and recently published some of their findings in Communications Earth & Environment.
    Catherine Garcia, The Week, 27 Apr. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'like (greased) lightning.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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