lite

1 of 2

adjective

ˈlīt 

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

David Henrie’s slick exercise in lite supernatural suspense is aimed at younger viewers, though their parents may also be diverted by the cast’s elder members, including Mel Gibson, Lorraine Bracco and Kevin James. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 3 Oct. 2024

The correct list and prices are quarter lite for $789, half lite for $899, and $998 for a full lite or three-quarter lite. —Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge, 30 Sep. 2024

Two products, Cape Cod chicken salad and lite chicken salad, were sold only at the Norwalk, Conn. store. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 6 Feb. 2024

Still, in the larger scope of Vancouver Island’s wilderness, this was nature lite. —Jen Murphy, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2024

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

Medical Definition

lite

variant of light entry 2