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).

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Have you mastered the meaning of phronesis? How about plethoric? Take the quiz on the words from the week of February 17 to 23 to find out.

Question 1 of 7

Lincolnesque

without interest or significance; dull; insipid.

like or characteristic of Abraham Lincoln.

very high or tall; lofty.

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Words nearby lite

lit.d., litany, litas, litchi, litchi nut, lite, liter, literacy, literacy hour, literacy test, literae humaniores

Origin of lite

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

OTHER WORDS FROM lite

lite·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH lite

lite 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. 2020

Example sentences 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