lit
verb
a simple past tense and past participle of light.
Showing results for "lit"
- a variation of litas.
lit
1 American
[lit]
/ lɪt /
verb
adjective
-
Slang. under the influence of liquor or narcotics; intoxicated (usually followed byup ).
-
Slang. amazing; awesome; cool (used as a general term of approval).
Today's rally was really lit!
lit
2
American
[lit]
/ lɪt /
verb
lit
3
American
[lit]
/ lɪt /
noun
Informal.
lit
4
American
[lit]
/ lɪt /
noun
lit.
5
American
abbreviation
-
liter; liters.
-
literal.
-
literally.
-
literary.
-
literature.
Lit.
6
American
abbreviation
lit.
1
British
abbreviation
-
literal(ly)
-
literary
-
literature
lit
2
British
/ lɪt /
Etymology
Origin of lit1
First recorded in 1895–1900 in the sense “intoxicated”
Origin of lit3
First recorded in 1850–55; by shortening
Explanation
If something's lit, it's illuminated with light from a lamp or other source. Your romantic dinner table might be lit only with flickering candles. A well-lit room provides enough light for whatever task you need to to there — your kitchen might be lit with under-cabinet lights that shine on the counters, and your office might be lit with a desk lamp. Lit also means "set on fire," like a lit campfire or a glowing, lit stick of incense. If you're studying American literature in school, you might describe it using the colloquial shorthand, "American lit."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The pair trade that saw investors go long chips and short software lit up the stock market for much of 2026.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
They are three people who watched the fire get lit and, by their own contemporaneous words, knew exactly what was burning.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
One arrives every two minutes or so at each airy, pleasantly lit station.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
As they were still teenagers, they were better able to squeeze through narrow spaces, crawling between concrete slabs lit only by a handheld torch or mobile phone so they could tell rescuers where to dig.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
His father lit the bonfire with great ceremony, announcing they were celebrating a night when magic was let loose upon the world.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
“This was like magic. Then he gets the light lit. I say this is poetic, but it’s true. It lit the rest of my career. I was locked into science, mostly electricity.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2024
The overriding concern for any lamp, John Pawson said, is that “it has to look good when it’s not lit. That’s the goal.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 11, 2023
"The reason for the recall of the vehicles is the SRS warning light on the instrument panel is lit. An internal malfunction of the airbag module is possible," Rosstandard said in a statement.
From Reuters ● Aug. 8, 2022
"Holding onto anger is poison; forgiving is nectar. An angry grudge is like lighting a fire that destroys the place where it's lit. It burns your own heart first."
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2021
“It’s a sneakandle. Anyone more than three feet away can’t tell it’s lit. Invented it myself.”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
My English Lit. is a little rusty, but I seem to remember a couple of writers named Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.
From New York Times ● Feb. 28, 2018
“But the Academy course only lasts a year, not six like in Psychology. I’ll have to see what I do afterward. Maybe Lit. But I’m planning to keep writing.”
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 10, 2016
“If the English Lit. department walked out, nobody would’ve done anything.”
From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2015
Lit. factories, the book does have intrinsic value for nonacademic readers.
From Time Magazine Archive
View of Cincinnati', p. 232-238; Mitchell, in the 'Transactions of the Lit. and Philos.
From COSMOS: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe, Vol. 1 by Alexander von Humboldt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
