to alight on

2 6.8

To come down and settle lightly on something

phrasal verb
/əˈlaɪt ɑn/

: 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'.