lite
/laɪt/
lite adjective: abridged or lesser; being a simpler or unpaid version of a product. Also the informal spelling of light.
Adjective (1)
lite (not comparable)
- Abridged or lesser; being a simpler or unpaid version of a product.
- Light in composition, notably low in fat, calories etc. Most commonly used commercially.
- Dinner consisted of crackers, some broccoli and a salad with lite ranch dressing.
- Lightweight
- Lacking substance or seriousness; watered down.
- this compromise bill is reform lite. It is both more palatable to nursing home owners and less protective of elderly patients2003 March 6, “Reform Lite”, in St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- If there is a difference between doing this to a child and engaging in old-fashioned punishment, it is at best a quantitative rather than a qualitative difference. What Dreikurs and his followers are selling is Punishment Lite.2006, Alfie Kohn, Beyond discipline: from compliance to community, page 42
Noun (1)
lite (plural lites)
- A window pane
Noun (2)
lite (uncountable)
Adjective (2)
lite (comparative liter, superlative litest)
- few; little
Verb
lite (third-person singular simple present lites, present participle liting, simple past and past participle lited)
Noun (3)
lite (plural lites)
- The act of waiting; a wait.
Also used as
lite is also the informal spelling of light.
lite is also the archaic form of light.
Examples of lite in a sentence
- David equaled the water levels of the bottles, so they now both contain exactly 1 liter.
- (non-final) ancien régime, coup d'état, décor, déjà vu, détente, élite, résumé, séance.
- The state police recovered a broken, jumbo (1.75-liter) bottle of vodka under the front seat of the burned-out wreckage of the minivan.
Forms of lite
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | lites |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | liter |
| superlative | litest |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | lites |
| present participle | liting |
| past participle | lited |
| past | lited |
Origin of lite
Variation of light (in the sense of lacking weight, substance, etc.)
From Middle English lit, lut (“little”), from Old English lȳt.
From Middle English liten, from Old Norse hlíta (“to rely on, trust, abide by”). Cognate with Icelandic hlíta (“to comply”), Swedish lita (“to trust, rely on, depend on, confide in”), Danish lide (“to trust”).
Words formed from lite
Phrases with lite
Words that rhyme with lite
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- knight
- slight
- Dwight
- height
- sight
- night
- sprite
- fight
- parasite
- site
- alight
- smite
- all right
- blight
- might
- mite
- skite
- cite
- indite
- outright
- plight
- bight
- excite
- ignite
- invite
- overnight
- uptight
- wight
- accite
- alright
- benight
- bewrite
- blite
- copyright
- despite
- dight
- disunite
- finite
- flite
- hight
- incite
- recite
- relight
- rewrite
- sleight
- spite
- spright
- wite
Questions about lite
- What does lite mean?
- Lite means abridged or lesser; being a simpler or unpaid version of a product.
- What part of speech is lite?
- Lite can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce lite?
- Lite is pronounced /laɪt/.
Words near lite in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: lite (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-lite.wav.
Cite this entry: “lite.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lite. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.