Brake Light Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

brake light American [breyk lahyt] / ˈbreɪk ˌlaɪt /

noun

1. a taillight that lights up as the driver of a vehicle steps on the brake pedal to slow down or stop.

brake light British

noun

1. Also called: stoplight. a red light attached to the rear of a motor vehicle that lights up when the brakes are applied, serving as a warning to following drivers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of brake light

First recorded in 1850–55 (for railroad trains)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Humberside Police said officers had noticed a vehicle with a defective rear brake light at about 20:25 GMT.

From BBC

My car never tires, panics or wavers; it doesn’t jolt at brake lights or grumble at traffic jams.

From The Wall Street Journal

Red brake lights and white headlights filled every inch of the road below.

From Literature

After the impact, he testified, the white Mercedes’ brake lights went on, but it did not stop.

From Los Angeles Times

On a recent evening, Ms. Diver, 25, sat in stop-and-go traffic, the red of the brake lights in front glowing through the windshield, as dusk turned to darkness.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.