Plain English Meaning

Bright flashing lights on the very ends of the wings that help other pilots see the airplane.

Full Definition

High-intensity flashing white lights mounted at the outer tip of each wing, designed to make the airplane highly visible to other aircraft, particularly in flight and in low-light or hazy conditions.

Context Anchor

You encounter wingtip strobes during pre-takeoff checks, night operations, and anytime exterior aircraft lights are discussed.

Derivation

Strobe comes from the Greek strobos, meaning 'a whirling' or 'act of whirling.' It was adopted for lights that flash rapidly because the quick on-off pulses give a similar -grabbing .