lightning in a bottle
"lightning-in-a-bottle" is a 18-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lightning in a bottle” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 21
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - That which one seeks in attempting a difficult or challenging feat.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lightning-in-a-bottle · lightning in a bottle · English
lightning in a bottle · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 21 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "L" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lightning in a bottle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 21 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “lightning in a bottle” in English
Rare enough to double-check
lightning in a bottle is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
lightning in a bottle has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Originally (19th century) a literal reference to Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment, capturing electricity from lightning and storing it in a Leyden jar, along with variants such as bottled lightning. Later used in baseball context in sense “difficult feat… The correct English form is lightning in a bottle, spelled L-I-G-H-T-N-I-N-G- -I-N- -A- -B-O-T-T-L-E.
Definition
- 1That which one seeks in attempting a difficult or challenging feat.
- 2A very difficult, unlikely or lucky achievement or period of success.
- 3Ephemeral state or atmosphere, as at a startup company or artistic group.
- 4Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lightning, bottle.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lightning in a bottle appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The Yanks were the dominant team throughout, outhitting, outfielding, outpitching and outmaneuvering the Dodgers. Brooklyn was not outgamed but the Dodgers, to use Lippy Leo Durocher’s favorite expression, went out to try to catch lightning in a bottle.
Their fate remained in doubt until the very last game of the season. This truly was a team that captured lightning in a bottle.
Etymology
Originally (19th century) a literal reference to Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment, capturing electricity from lightning and storing it in a Leyden jar, along with variants such as bottled lightning. Later used in baseball context in sense “difficult feat”, from circa 1941, attributed to Leo Durocher. Wider use grew in 1980s and 1990s, particularly in sense “great, fleeting success”, and popular since 2000s.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.