lite

1 of 2

adjective

1
: light entry 4 sense 9a
lite beer
lite salad dressing
2
: diminished or lacking in substance or seriousness
lite news
specifically : being an innocuous or unthreatening version
often used postpositively
it is film noir lite James Greenberg

-lite

2 of 2

noun combining form

: mineral
rhodolite
: rock
aerolite
: fossil
stromatolite

Examples of lite in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Still, in the larger scope of Vancouver Island’s wilderness, this was nature lite. Jen Murphy, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2024 Did the San Francisco Giants just hire Bruce Bochy lite? After spending Monday in interviews with Giants brass, Bob Melvin reportedly accepted an offer to become the manager, ditching his current employer, the San Diego Padres. Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2023 The ingredients included organic chicken stock, elbow macaroni pasta, lite coconut milk, green beans, potatoes, and carrots. Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 16 Aug. 2023 Enlarge / Ring Fit Adventure for the Nintendo Switch is both a lite RPG and an exercise game. Ars Staff, Ars Technica, 5 Jan. 2022 The lite model is designed for handheld play, easy to toss into a carry-on, and is compatible with over 5,000 games. Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 24 Apr. 2023 The problem for Apple was that the Windows PC and Chromebook reacted and adopted many of the positive characteristics of the iPad like capacitive touch, pen, app store, LTE, long battery life and thin and lite. Patrick Moorhead, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2021 The scratchings in question here are a series of diary entries by the fictitious 4th-century AD Roman matron whose name is in the title; the novel consists of her jottings over two decades—shopping lists, somewhat lite musings on parties and friends, affairs and deaths. Daniel Mendelsohn, Town & Country, 1 May 2021 Of course no one could have guessed the level of success that would await Underwood, but this glossy confection of lite-country-pop would still sound suitable in her live shows. Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 22 May 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun combining form

borrowed from French, respelling of earlier -lithe, borrowed from Greek líthos "stone, rock," of obscure origin

Note: As pointed out by the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, the acceptability of the non-classical spelling -lite for -lithe or -lith may have been advanced by the long-established word chrysolite.

First Known Use

Adjective

1962, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of lite was in 1962

Dictionary Entries Near lite

Cite this Entry

“Lite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lite. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

lite

variant of light entry 2

More from Merriam-Webster on lite

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