lit

¹ American  

[lit] / lɪt /

verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of light.

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adjective

1. Slang. under the influence of liquor or narcotics; intoxicated (usually followed byup ).

2. Slang. amazing; awesome; cool (used as a general term of approval).

   Today's rally was really lit!

lit ² American  

[lit] / lɪt /

verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of light.

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lit ³ American  

[lit] / lɪt /

noun

Informal.

1. literature.

   a college course in English lit.

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lit ⁴ American  

[lit] / lɪt /

noun

1. litas.

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lit. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. liter; liters.

2. literal.

3. literally.

4. literary.

5. literature.

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Lit. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. (in Italy) lira; lire.

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lit. ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. literal(ly)

2. literary

3. literature

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lit ² British  

/ lɪt /

verb

1. a past tense and past participle of light 1

2. an alternative past tense and past participle of light 2

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Etymology

Origin of lit¹

First recorded in 1895–1900 in the sense “intoxicated”

Origin of lit³

First recorded in 1850–55; by shortening

Example Sentences

In a fifth round that lit up Brooklyn's Barclays Center, Smith stood toe-to-toe with the heavy-handed Puerto Rican and dropped him with a looping overhand right.

From BBC

"It may not be what you can do all the time, but it could be something that's lit up in you, that you've forgotten," she says.

From BBC

‘The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Released in September, it lit a rocket under their career, featuring at the top of multiple best of 2025 lists, which DiGesu, 23, says is "pretty weird and new for us."

From BBC

Still hearing explosions, this time distant ones, my phone soon lit up as people began to WhatsApp and call about what was going on.

From BBC

Related Words

• stoned
• tipsy