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Glite Dictionary
to alight on

to alight on

2 6.8
To come down and settle lightly on something
  • phrasal verb
  • /əˈlaɪt ɑn/
translation icon : posarse en
  • As we walked by the pond, several ducks alighted on the water's surface.
  • birds alight on
  • butterfly alighted on
  • pigeon alighted on

Examples

  • Outside the window, small birds swooped to alight on the bird feeder.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • A black raven alights on top of it.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Just then, a pair of swallows alighted on the grill of the window.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • As she alighted on the stone floor, she saw the dwarves had turned it into a throne room.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Down by the river, pigeons alight on the stones and groom their feathers.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • A dragonfly alighted on a wildflower, and the stem bowed.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The shadow whirs past her head, spins from its gyre, and alights on the tomb.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • There would be swans, and a dragonfly would alight on Elizabeth's arm, the sun shimmering on its wings.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • A flock of sparrows alight on the garden fence every morning.

  • The butterfly gracefully alighted on a colorful flower.

Synonyms

to land
vsto alight on
∞ 1.0

To come down and rest on a surface

focuses on light settling on small objects rather than broad descents
to alight
vsto alight on
2 6.6

To come down and land after flying, like a bird on a branch

is the same action but used as a two-word form with a surface particle
to perch at
vsto alight on
  • Informal
1 6.4

To sit somewhere for a short time in a casual way

describes a brief light landing rather than a casual or unstable sitting

Antonyms

to take off
273 3.2

To leave a place quickly, often to travel somewhere else

How Gentle

to alight on
2 6.8
to perch
67 4.4
to touch down
45 3.6
to land
∞ 1.0
to fall
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

alight on infinitive
alighting on present participle
alights on third person singular
alighted on past
alighted on past participle

Morphology

alight + on

The verb 'alight' already means 'to land or settle briefly' and the preposition 'on' simply indicates the surface, so the combined sense 'to come down and settle on a surface' is directly and compositionally derived from the parts. Although 'alight' is somewhat formal or literary, the motion + locative pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Alight on: The phrasal verb alight on comes from the image of a bird or insect softly landing on something, with the animal being alight, coming down gently, and resting on a surface. So, alight on means 'to come down and settle lightly'.