lite

[ lahyt ]

/ laɪt /

Informal.

Save This Word!

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).

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of lite

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

OTHER WORDS FROM lite

liteness, noun

Words nearby lite

litas, litchi, litchi nut, lit-crit, lit de justice, lite, liter, literacy, literacy hour, literacy test, literae humaniores

Other definitions 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. 2023

How to use lite in a sentence

Podcasts are “generally an ad-lite environment” while brands’ messaging “has a higher share of voice in this ecosystem compared to others,” Ross said.
‘Qualify the context’: Publishers see success with podcasts created to deepen coronavirus crisis coverage|Sara Guaglione|February 26, 2021|Digiday
Despite this initial use of influencers, Clubhouse is likely to remain brand-lite for a while yet.
‘Because it’s so new and fresh’: It took a minute, but brands are in the Clubhouse app|Seb Joseph|February 22, 2021|Digiday
It’s not a matter of appeasing independents or Republicans, or becoming “Republican lite” as some call it.
Bidens should first live in Blair House|Peter Rosenstein|December 3, 2020|Washington Blade
According to Cloudinary data, web developers that work to optimize the lite mode experience benefit from longer engagement and see up to a 10% uptick in session engagement.
Optimizing the browser long tail across platforms, devices, and countries|Sanjay Sarathy|October 19, 2020|Search Engine Watch

In April 2020, 18% of global Android users enabled the “save-data,” or lite mode, function, which enables faster browsing by decreasing the amount of mobile data used.
Optimizing the browser long tail across platforms, devices, and countries|Sanjay Sarathy|October 19, 2020|Search Engine Watch
Too many Democrats, in the face of national headwinds, ran as Republican-lite, Malloy said.
Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy to Democrats: Grow a Pair|David Freedlander|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Maybe all this Sturm und Drang will give birth to a new lime-lite generation of cocktails.
Limepocalypse! Inside the Great Lime Shortage of 2014|Kara Cutruzzula|April 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In his previous roles, the 26-year-old actor was like Vince Vaughn-lite—a charismatic, eminently likeable motor mouth.
‘Whiplash’ Is Sundance’s Hottest Film, A Music-Themed Drama Starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons|Marlow Stern|January 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Voegeli charges that Geoffrey Kabaservice and I propose only that Republicans dwindle into Democrats-lite.
What Comes After the Tea Party?|David Frum|February 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And some sort of fraud-lite will be committed by everybody, against everybody--including themselves.
How Much Fraud Was There Among Mortgage Originators?|Megan McArdle|February 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Than bad he hym syn erthe was so lyte; F. Than bad he hym see the erthe that is so lite (wrongly).
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
Meantime, Coligny and La Rochefoucauld were advancing to meet him with the lite of their army and with all the artillery they had.
History of the Rise of the Huguenots|Henry Baird
She was a great contrast to the rest of them, who were in ultra fashionable and befeathered robes, of a style unknown to our lite.
A Journal from Japan|Marie Carmichael Stopes
We old chaps, my dear, air apt to forget that it is sum time since we was infants, and et lite food.
The Complete Works of Artemus Ward|Charles Farrar Browne (AKA Artemus Ward)
First of all the American Negro is the lite, the aristocracy of Liberia.
The Soul of John Brown|Stephen Graham

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