Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Intermittent flashes of light near the horizon, usually seen on a hot summer evening, unaccompanied by thunder and thought to be cloud reflections of distant lightning.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun bright flashes of light near the horizon without thunder (especially on hot evenings); usually attributed to distant lightning that is reflected by clouds
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treeseed commented on the word heat lightning
Heat lightning is a misnomer for the faint flashes of lightning on the horizon or other clouds from distant thunderstorms that do not have accompanying sounds of thunder. Heat lightning was named because it often occurs on hot summer nights, and to distinguish it from lightning with accompanying thunder.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008