compact fluorescent light

noun

variants or compact fluorescent light bulb or compact fluorescent bulb or less commonly compact fluorescent lamp or compact fluorescent lightbulb

plural compact fluorescent lights or compact fluorescent light bulbs or compact fluorescent bulbs also compact fluorescent lamps or compact fluorescent lightbulbs

: a tightly coiled fluorescent lamp designed to fit into a standard household light fixture

Compact fluorescent lights are used in common household lighting devices and often have a spiral-shaped lamp. … The bulbs use 70% less energy than incandescent bulbs, according to the DOE, but are still less efficient than LED bulbs.

—Jeremy Beaman

Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

—Marisca Bakker

LED bulbs can last three to five times longer than a compact fluorescent bulb, and up to 30 times longer than an incandescent bulb, according to the Department of Energy.

—Ella Nilsen

—abbreviation CFL

Examples of compact fluorescent light in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The success of the light-emitting diode means curtains for the compact fluorescent light (CFL). —IEEE Spectrum, 30 Dec. 2011

This would take effect by the end of 2024 and effectively phase out compact fluorescent light bulbs. —Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 2 Aug. 2023

In the United States, compact fluorescent lights — the bulbs made up of a swirl of fluorescent tubing — meet the new efficiency rules. —Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above