A lamp is a device that produces light, typically consisting of a bulb or flame housed in a base or fixture. The lamp on your desk helps you read at night. A floor lamp stands tall in the corner of a living room. Table lamps sit on nightstands, and desk lamps can be adjusted to shine exactly where you need them.

Before electricity, people used oil lamps with wicks that burned liquid fuel, or gas lamps that burned natural gas. The invention of the electric light bulb in the 1870s transformed lamps into the convenient devices we use today. You simply flip a switch, and a tungsten filament or LED inside the bulb glows brightly.

Lamps differ from overhead lights in an important way: they're portable and focused. You can move a lamp to wherever you need light, whether that's your homework spot, a reading chair, or beside your bed. Some lamps have adjustable arms or shades that direct light exactly where you want it, making them more versatile than a ceiling fixture.

The word can also refer to specialized light sources, like the heat lamp a chef uses to keep food warm, or a miner's headlamp that illuminates dark tunnels.