noun
aurora
uh-RAW-ruh
noun
1
A natural display of shifting coloured lights in the night sky near the polar regions, caused by charged particles from the sun.
"Tourists travel to Iceland hoping to see the aurora dance across the sky."
"The aurora borealis lit up the northern horizon in shades of green and purple."
2
Literary term for the first light of dawn.
"The poem describes the aurora breaking gently over the hills."
How to Use Aurora
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe colourful natural light show seen in the sky near the North and South Poles, or, poetically, the dawn itself.
Common pairings
aurora borealis
aurora australis
see the aurora
Word Forms
auroras plural, aurorae plural
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Tourists travel to Iceland hoping to see the _____ dance across the sky.
Etymology
From Latin aurōra ("dawn"), also the name of the Roman goddess of the dawn.