How to pronounce lighter
American English pronunciation
LY-ter
- IPA
- /ˈlaɪtɚ/
- Syllables
- LY · ter (2 syllables, stress on the 1st)
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What lighter means
Most people know lighter in its everyday sense. Here's its other meaning.
A flat barge that carries cargo to and from ships
In a sentence: Workers loaded the crates onto a lighter, which carried them from the big ship to the dock.
Where it comes from: It comes from an old word meaning to make less heavy, because the boat took some of the load off a big ship. It is a different word from lighter, the flame maker.
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