sprite

noun

ˈsprīt 

plural sprites

1

a

: elf, fairy

b

: an elfish person

2

a

: a disembodied spirit : ghost

b

archaic : soul

3

: a form of electrical discharge that sometimes is emitted upwards from the top of a cumulonimbus cloud during a thunderstorm at the same time that lightning strikes downward and that usually appears as a red or reddish-orange flash of light

Atmospheric scientist Walter Lyons and his colleagues … noticed unusual behavior in storms over the plains: They triggered huge numbers of "sprites"—ghostly red glows of excited nitrogen molecules often seen high above violent storms.

—Robert Irion

4

: a bitmapped image or repeating loop of images that can move independently on a display often on top of a static background

Sprites are complex mathematically constructed models, sometimes simple (such as a computer cursor) and sometimes more complex, perhaps even humanoid in appearance.

—Stewart Fist

While the main character and enemy sprites in this … shooter are unusually large and detailed for the era, what really makes this game stand out are the highly detailed backgrounds that stand toe-to-toe with better-known NES games.

—Chris Freiberg

Gaming has grown from an eight-bit industry with sprites dancing across the cathode ray tube televisions of the '80s and '90s into a $180 billion global juggernaut with an audience that is larger than sports, movies and music combined.

—Andy Brownfield

Synonyms

• brownie
• dwarf
• elf
• faerie
• faery
• fairy
• fay
• gnome
• goblin
• gremlin
• hobgoblin
• kobold
• leprechaun
• pixie
• pixy
• puck
• troll

Examples of sprite in a Sentence

the child insisted that he'd seen a sprite hiding in the garden

told hair-raising stories of sprites and spectral ships

Recent Examples on the Web

This is done in part by some masterful pixel-art graphics, which incorporate some wild 2D lighting effects and detailed, painterly sprite world. —Ars Technica, 22 Dec. 2024

The statue appeared to be a sprite, a depiction of a mythical being that serves as a guardian over the land. —Stacey Barchenger, The Arizona Republic, 4 Dec. 2024

The top-down adventure has you, as a tiny Link sprite, proceed through the strange Koholint Island after being shipwrecked. —Ashley Bardhan, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024

The day this absurd, magical, laugh-out-loud-good little sprite of a footballer skips away into the past tense. —Jack Lang, The Athletic, 14 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English sprit, from Anglo-French espriz, espirit spirit, sprite — more at spirit

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Phrases Containing sprite

• water sprite

Kids Definition

sprite

noun

ˈsprīt 

: elf, fairy