nit

1
[ nit ]
See synonyms for nit on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the egg of a parasitic insect, especially of a louse, often attached to a hair or a fiber of clothing.

  2. the young of such an insect.

Origin of nit

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English nite, nete, nette, Old English hnitu, cognate with Dutch neet, German Niss, Old Icelandic gnit, Norwegian gnett; akin to Welsh nedd, Polish gnida, Greek konís (stem konid- ), from Proto-Indo-European root knid- “egg of a louse”

Words Nearby nit

Other definitions for nit (2 of 3)

nit2
[ nit ]

nounChiefly British.
  1. a nitwit.

Origin of nit

2
First recorded in 1590–1600; perhaps from nit1; perhaps from nit(wit)

Other definitions for nit (3 of 3)

nit3
[ nit ]

nounPhysics.
  1. a unit of luminous intensity equal to one candela per square meter. Abbreviation: nt

Origin of nit

3
First recorded in 1950–55; from French, extracted from Latin nitor “brightness, splendor”; see nitid, -or1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use nit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nit (1 of 5)

nit1

/ (nɪt) /


noun
  1. the egg of a louse, especially when adhering to human hair

  2. the larva of a louse or similar insect

Origin of nit

1
Old English hnitu; related to Dutch neet, Old High German hniz

British Dictionary definitions for nit (2 of 5)

nit2

/ (nɪt) /


noun
  1. a unit of luminance equal to 1 candela per square metre

Origin of nit

2
C20: from Latin nitor brightness

British Dictionary definitions for nit (3 of 5)

nit3

/ (nɪt) /


noun
  1. informal, mainly British short for nitwit

British Dictionary definitions for nit (4 of 5)

nit4

/ (nɪt) /


noun
  1. a unit of information equal to 1.44 bits: Also called: nepit

Origin of nit

4
C20: from N (apierian dig) it

British Dictionary definitions for nit (5 of 5)

nit5

/ (nɪt) /


noun
  1. keep nit Australian informal to keep watch, esp during illegal activity

Origin of nit

5
C19: from nix 1

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