- (sometimes capital) the aurora seen around the North PoleAlso called: northern lights
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
au•ro•ra bo•re•al•is /əˈrɔrə ˌbɔriˈælɪs, -ˈeɪlɪs/USA pronunciation n. [countable;
usually singular;
the + ~]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026usually singular;
the + ~]
- Meteorologythe aurora of the Northern Hemisphere.Also called ˈnorth•ern ˈlights.
auro′ra bo•re•al′is
(bôr′ē al′is, -ā′lis, bōr′-),USA pronunciation [Meteorol.]
- Meteorologythe aurora of the Northern Hemisphere. Also called northern lights, auro′ra polar′is.
- Neo-Latin: northern aurora; see boreal
- 1621
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
aurora borealis /ˌbɔːrɪˈeɪlɪs/ n
'aurora borealis' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):