noun
lights that illuminate the audience's part of a theater or other auditorium
• Usage Domain: ↑plural, ↑plural form
• Hypernyms: ↑light, ↑light source
• Member Holonyms: ↑theater light
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\\ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷\ noun plural : the lights that illuminate the spaces in a theater occupied by an audience before and after performance on the stage
the houselights went down and the footlights came up — W.L.White
the houselights darkened and the curtain rose — Thyra S. Winslow
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/hows"luyts'/, n.pl.
the lamps providing illumination of the auditorium or seating area of a theater.
[1915-20; HOUSE + LIGHT1 + -S3]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.