Meanings
plural warning lights
- A light on a dashboard or control panel that lights up when something undesirable has happened, or is about to happen; or if placed on a tall structure, to warn aircraft of its presence.
Additional warning lights are provided to indicate diesel engine shut-down, traction motor blower failure or high engine cooling water temperature. On the assistant's side of the cab, another light shows should the train heating boiler shut down.
1958 June 29, “Main-Line Diesel-Electric Locomotives for the Eastern Region”, in Railway Magazine, page 395Synonyms: idiot light
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA light on a dashboard or control panel that lights up when something undesirable has happened, or is about to happen; or if placed on a tall structure, to warn aircraft of its presence.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
warning light. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warning%20light
“warning light.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warning%20light. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “warning light,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warning%20light.
Source: warning light on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.