Chandelier

//ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪɚ// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A branched, often ornate, light fixture suspended from a ceiling.

    "She opened the drawing-room door in trepidation. Would she find Esther drowned with her head in the goldfish bowl, or hanged from the chandelier by her stay-lace?"

  2. 2
    branched lighting fixture; often ornate; hangs from the ceiling wordnet
  3. 3
    A branched, often ornate, light fixture suspended from a ceiling.; One lit by candles. specifically
  4. 4
    A fictional bidder used to increase the price at an auction. attributive, often

    "2007, Frank Pope, "Dragon Sea: a true tale of treasure, archeology, and greed off the coast of Vietnam", Harcourt Books, p. 306. A mysterious phone bidder was grabbing the pieces that no one else wanted—Mensun suspected this was the auction house "bidding against the chandelier," protecting itself against selling too low."

  5. 5
    An endoilluminator used in eye surgery.
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  1. 6
    A portable frame used to support temporary wooden fences. obsolete

    "Chandelier. A wooden frame, whereon are laid fascines or faggots, to cover the workmen in making approaches."

Synonyms

All synonyms
candelabrumcoronacrowndraperyholderluster

Example

More examples

"A crystal chandelier was hanging over the table."

Etymology

Borrowed from French chandelier, from Latin candelabrum, from candela (“a candle”). Doublet of candelabrum. See also candle.

Related phrases

chandelier bidchandelier biddingchandelier earringchandelier exitchandelier plantchandelier stopnot the brightest bulb in the chandelierchandelier bidchandelier bidding

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.