jack-o'-lantern

US: /ˈdʒækəˌlæntɚn/ ,( jak′ə lan′tərn)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

jack-o'-lan•tern /ˈdʒækəˌlæntɚn/   n. [countable]

1. a pumpkin that has been hollowed out and cut with openings to represent a human face, traditionally displayed at Halloween, often with a candle or light inside.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

jack-o'-lan•tern  ( jak′ə lan′tərn), n. 

1. a hollowed pumpkin with openings cut to represent human eyes, nose, and mouth and in which a candle or other light may be placed, traditionally made for display at Halloween.
2. a commercially made lantern resembling this.
3. any phenomenon of light, as a corona discharge or an ignis fatuus.
4. Fungi a poisonous luminescent orange fungus, Omphalotus olearius, often found in clusters at the base of hardwood tree stumps.

• 1655–65

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

jack-o'-lantern noun

1. a lantern made from a hollowed pumpkin, which has holes cut in it to represent a human face
2. a will-o'-the-wisp or similar phenomenon