ultralight

American  

[uhl-truh-lahyt, uhl-truh-lahyt, uhl-truh-lahyt] / ˌʌl trəˈlaɪt, ˈʌl trəˌlaɪt, ˈʌl trəˌlaɪt /

adjective

1. extremely lightweight in comparison with others of its kind.

   a car with an ultralight engine.

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noun

1. something that is ultralight.

2. a small, light, inexpensive single-seat airplane that is essentially a motorized hang glider.

Etymology

Origin of ultralight

First recorded in 1970–75; ultra- + light ²

Example Sentences

In Santa Cruz, researchers and conservationists also deployed ultralight radio tags to better understand how butterflies move between overwintering groves, information that could help improve how overwintering habitat is managed.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

If ultralight bosons exist, they can extract rotational energy from black holes.

From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2025

To an amazing degree, the FAA relies on ultralight pilots’ judgment and sense of self preservation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

That allowed the team to simulate how defects in magnesium alloys form, grow, and move, an advance that should help spur the development of ultralight materials for fuel-efficient cars and airplanes.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 13, 2023

Only the unique combination of the two of them could have produced the silk sleigh: a sleek, ultralight craft buoyed by ulola gas.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor