lite

[ lahyt ]

/ laɪt /

Informal.

adjective

noting a commercial product that is low in calories or low in any substance considered undesirable, as compared with a product of the same type: used especially in labeling or advertising commercial products: lite beer.

noting a version that is comparatively less extreme, profound, advanced, etc., than the typical version (often used postpositively): The film glossed over the dangers of the experiment with a science-lite explanation. The lite version of the app is available for mobile download.

noun

light²(def 36).

Nearby words

Origin of lite

First recorded in 1965–70; an informal, simplified spelling of light²

Related formslite·ness, noun

Can be confusedlite light

Definition for lite (2 of 2)

-lite

a combining form used in the names of minerals or fossils: aerolite; chrysolite.

Also -lyte².

Compare -lith.

Origin of -lite

< French, simplified form of -lithe < Greek líthos stone; similarly German -lit, earlier -lith

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lite

Ngai associates it with other "lite" aesthetic categories promulgated by postwar consumer culture: quaint, wacky, quirky, cool.
Zany, Cute, Interesting: What the Words We Use Say About Us|Benjamin Lytal|October 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Even The Wall Street Journal weighed in, describing LeMieux as nothing more than “Charlie Crist lite.”
Another GOP Star Stumbles|Jim DeFede|September 4, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He couldn't be seen in the darkness, but "Lite" could smell him and kept at his flank.
Cattle-Ranch to College|Russell Doubleday
"Lite" received the caressing pat on his nose and the words of praise his master gave him with commendable modesty.
Cattle-Ranch to College|Russell Doubleday

Frank thought that these men were also invited, and hoped to become acquainted with the lite of Salingen.
The Catholic World, Vol. X, October 1869|Various
Here we have the lite of Shakespeare's creations in a throng about his cradle.
George Cruikshank|W. H. Chesson
They passed comfortable homes surrounded by large yards where the lite of Wellington lived.
Molly Brown's College Friends|Nell Speed

British Dictionary definitions for lite (1 of 2)

lite

/ (laɪt) /

adjective

(of food and drink) containing few calories or little alcohol or fat

denoting a more restrained or less extreme version of a person or thingreggae lite

Word Origin for lite

C20: variant spelling of light ²

British Dictionary definitions for lite (2 of 2)

-lite

n combining form

(in names of minerals) stonechrysolite Compare -lith

Word Origin for -lite

from French -lite or -lithe, from Greek lithos stone

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lite (1 of 2)

lite

adj.

alternative spelling of light (adj.1), by 1962. Used from at least 1917 in product names, often as a variation of light (n.).

The word Adjusto-Lite for portable electric lamps was opposed by the user of a trade mark Auto-lite registered before the date of use claimed by the applicant. ["The Trade-Mark Reporter," 1922]

Word Origin and History for lite (1 of 2)

-lite

word-forming element meaning "stone," from French -lite, variant of -lithe, from Greek lithos "stone" (see litho-).