1
as in perching
to come to rest after descending from the air
a flock of eight swans circled above, then alighted on the pond
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in descending
to come down from something (as a vehicle)
as she alighted from the train, she momentarily lost her footing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of alighting
Just as the sun prepared to sink beyond the escarpments, its rays struck every piece of the fractured glass resting on top of the window frames, alighting all of them at once, as if they were shot with electricity.
—
New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Images showed Kim in a black jacket, alighting a mobile missile launcher near the main stage as thousands of people waved small North Korean flags.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Over the course of extended scenes, the eye roams the frame, alighting on the pop of natural and manmade details alike.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2026
The colors are richly saturated, and when something catches Ryan’s eye—say, a bee alighting on a wildflower—the images shimmer with an almost radioactive intensity.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Say each word was a bird—alighting briefly, out of reach and then gone again.
—Leila Chatti
september 5, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025
The second was to build what amounts to a nonflammable moat around a home to prevent embers from alighting on anything next to a house that could burn and ignite the structure.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2025
Sound of Falling skips back and forth through time, alighting on moments of both horror and grace across a century in the lives of four women—adolescent and adult—inhabiting the same unsettled spaces.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Images showed Kim in a black jacket, alighting a mobile missile launcher near the main stage as thousands of people waved small North Korean flags.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Over the course of extended scenes, the eye roams the frame, alighting on the pop of natural and manmade details alike.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2026
The colors are richly saturated, and when something catches Ryan’s eye—say, a bee alighting on a wildflower—the images shimmer with an almost radioactive intensity.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Say each word was a bird—alighting briefly, out of reach and then gone again.
—Leila Chatti
september 5, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025
The second was to build what amounts to a nonflammable moat around a home to prevent embers from alighting on anything next to a house that could burn and ignite the structure.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2025
Sound of Falling skips back and forth through time, alighting on moments of both horror and grace across a century in the lives of four women—adolescent and adult—inhabiting the same unsettled spaces.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alighting
Verb
-
Birds need a complete habitat that includes food, shelter, nesting areas and perching spots.—
Tim Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2026
-
The department recommends staggering bloom times to make sure hummingbirds have a food source for the entire season, as well as providing a source of water and trees or tall shrubs for nesting and perching.—
Maia Pandey,
jsonline.com,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Video from the rescue shows the helicopter descending near the Seneca River and then hovering over the water, where the dog is struggling to keep its head above the surface.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
2 Apr. 2026
-
But then, suddenly, a silhouette appears, quickly descending those stairs.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In the first episode’s Elimination Challenge‚ which was focused on North Carolina’s state vegetable, sweet potatoes — Cochran cooked up a pork loin in the kitchen at La Belle Helene that wasn’t quite cooked through, landing her in the bottom three competitors.—
Heidi Finley,
Charlotte Observer,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The first-stage booster made a recovery landing on land at Canaveral’s Landing Zone 1.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The popular halftime performer known as Red Panda finished her signature seven-minute set, looked up at a crowd of fans chanting her name and flashed a smile before dismounting.—
Alanis Thames,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The woman told investigators Herzing had made similar threats in July, which resulted in the victim suffering minor scrapes after dismounting at a stoplight.—
Lauren Breunig,
Twin Cities,
2 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Air traffic control now had to prepare for the possibility of disembarking passengers on the taxiway using an airstair truck and transporting them to the terminal.—
Colleen Mondor,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Growing up, her family would travel from London to their second home in Italy, disembarking in Dover and boarding the ferry for the Channel crossing.—
Adam Erace,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Alighting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alighting. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
