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light into. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
light into, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
light into in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
light into you have here. The definition of the word
light into will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
light into, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Phrasal verb from light (“to get down, drop, come”, verb) + into (“against”, preposition).
Verb
light into (third-person singular simple present lights into, present participle lighting into, simple past lit into or lighted into, past participle lit into)
- (transitive) To set upon or attack.
1885, Mark Twain, chapter 22, in Huckleberry Finn:[H]e lit into that horse with his whip.
1915, Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter 11, in Anne of the Island:[S]he lit into everybody else in the church and gave them a fearful raking down, calling them right out by name and telling them how they all had behaved, and casting up all the quarrels and scandals of the past ten years.
1935 April 25, “U.S. Judge and Wife Killed by Bandits”, in Montreal Gazette, retrieved 16 Jan. 2010:"Father grabbed the two guns and told me to light into the other man. I jumped on him and started choking him."
2003 January 13, Diane Roberts, “Graham would make Florida proud”, in St. Petersburg Times, retrieved 16 Jan. 2010:He speaks with more passion than ever, lighting into George W. Bush for fumbling the economy.
Synonyms
- (attack physically): assail, assault, lace into, lam into, rip into, tear into
- (attack verbally): criticize, dress down, excoriate, lace into, lam into, rebuke, reprimand, rip into, scold, tear into
- See also Thesaurus:reprehend