nit

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈnit 

plural nits

1

: the egg of a louse or other parasitic insect

also : the insect itself when young

2

: a minor shortcoming

Most of the feedback is adulatory, some critical (his public loves to catch him in mistakes, or at least pick nits [=criticize minor shortcomings]) and some downright nasty.

—Rudolph Chelminski

My only nit to pick is the chaotic presentation of the home page and its not being an especially user-friendly guide to the content.

—David L. Coddon

nit

2 of 4

noun (2)

plural nits

chiefly British

: a silly or stupid person : nitwit

nit

3 of 4

noun (3)

plural nits

: a unit of luminance equal to one candela per square meter

The 14-inch touchscreen display comes with a 2.2K resolution that can reach 300 nits of brightness.

—Chuong Nguyen

NIT

4 of 4

abbreviation

National Invitational Tournament

Synonyms

Noun (2)

• berk [British]
• booby
• charlie [British]
• charley
• cuckoo
• ding-a-ling
• ding-dong
• dingbat
• dipstick
• doofus [slang]
• featherhead
• fool
• git [British]
• goose
• half-wit
• jackass
• lunatic
• mooncalf
• nincompoop
• ninny
• ninnyhammer
• nitwit
• nut
• nutcase
• simp
• simpleton
• turkey
• yo-yo

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English nite, from Old English hnitu; akin to Old High German hniz nit, Greek konid-, konis

Noun (3)

borrowed from French, from the base of Latin nitēre "to shine" — more at neat entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1598, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1953, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing nit

• nit-picking

• nit-picking

Kids Definition

nit

noun

ˈnit

1

: the egg of a louse or similar insect

also : the insect itself when young

2

: a minor shortcoming

Medical Definition

nit

noun

ˈnit 

: the egg of a louse or other parasitic insect

also : the insect itself when young