light Meaning & Definition
What Does Light Mean?
As a noun, light means something that makes vision possible. It can also mean the sensation aroused by stimulation of the visual receptors. As an adjective, it means having light. As a verb, it means to become light.
Word Facts for Light
| Part of speech | noun, adjective, verb, adverb |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈlīt/ |
| Syllables | 1 |
| Synonyms | frivolous, clear and bright |
| Antonyms | heavy, dark and obliterate |
| Plural | lights |
| Comparative / superlative | lighter, lightest |
| Verb forms | lights, lighting, lit |
Light Definition (Noun)
- something that makes vision possible
God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
- the sensation aroused by stimulation of the visual receptors
… phosphenes—the random blotches and tiny speckles of light you see when you close your eyes or in total darkness …
- electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength that travels in a vacuum with a speed of 299,792,458 meters (about 186,000 miles) per second
- such radiation that is visible to the human eye
- daylight
… was up each morning at the first light …
- dawn
- a source of light: such as
- a celestial body
the lights in the sky
- candle
"… I crawled back to bed, and blew out the lights. …"
- an electric light
… lights can flicker when bulbs are not screwed in tightly …
- a color of notable lightness : a light or pale color
- clothing that is light in color
always washed the lights separately from the darks
- sight
- spiritual illumination
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
- inner light
- enlightenment
… reaching out and groping for a pathway to the light.
- truth
- public knowledge
facts brought to light
- a particular aspect or appearance presented to view
saw the matter in a different light
- a particular illumination
in the light of the fire / The large windows allow in lots of natural light.
- something that enlightens or informs
shed some light on the problem
- a medium (such as a window) through which light is admitted
- a set of principles, standards, or opinions
… worship according to one's lights …
- a noteworthy person in a particular place or field see also leading light
a literary light among current writers
- a particular expression of the eye
listened with a fiery light burning in her eyes
- lighthouse, beacon
- traffic light
waited for the light to change
- the representation of light in art
the artist's use of light and shadow
- a flame for lighting something (such as a cigarette)
asked a stranger for a light
Light as an Adjective
- having light : bright
a light airy room
- not intense in color, coloring, or pigmentation : not dark : pale
light hair
- medium in saturation and high in lightness
light blue
- served with extra milk or cream
Light as a Verb
- to become light : brighten
- to catch fire
The match wouldn't light.
- to ignite something (such as a cigarette)
- to set fire to
light a candle
- to conduct with a light : guide
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools / The way to dusty death.
- illuminate
rockets light up the sky
- animate, brighten
a smile lit up her face
Adjective
- having little weight : not heavy
a light box
- designed to carry a comparatively small load
a light truck
- having relatively little weight in proportion to bulk
aluminum is a light metal
- containing less than the legal, standard, or usual weight
a light coin
- of little importance : trivial
the allegations are no light matter
- not abundant
light rain / a light lunch
- easily disturbed
a light sleeper
- exerting a minimum of force or pressure : gentle
a light touch/breeze
- resulting from a very slight pressure : faint
light print
- easily endurable
a light illness
- requiring little effort
light work
- capable of moving swiftly or nimbly
light on his feet
- frivolous
light conduct
- lacking in stability : changeable
… a man of light nature and shifty methods …
- sexually promiscuous
- free from care : cheerful
in a light mood
- less powerful but usually more mobile than usual for its kind
light cavalry / a light cruiser
- made with a lower calorie content or with less of some ingredient (such as fat, sugar, or alcohol) than usual see also light beer
light cream/mayonnaise/syrup
- having a relatively mild flavor
- easily digested
a light soup
- well leavened
a light crust
- coarse and sandy or easily pulverized
light soil
- dizzy, giddy
felt light in the head
- intended chiefly to entertain
light verse / light comedy
- carrying little or no cargo
the ship returned light
- producing goods for direct consumption by the consumer
light industry
- not bearing a stress or accent
a light syllable
- having a clear soft quality
a light voice
- being in debt to the pot in a poker game
three chips light
- short
light on experience
- casual, occasional
a light drinker
Light as an Adverb
- lightly
- with few bags or personal items
were told to arrive early and pack light
Verb
- dismount
- settle, alight
a bird lit on the lawn
- to fall unexpectedly
- to arrive by chance : happen
Adjective
- light:4
lite beer / lite salad dressing
- diminished or lacking in substance or seriousness
lite news
- being an innocuous or unthreatening version
Synonyms of Light
Antonyms of Light
Light in a Sentence
As you can see, this spacious dining-room gets a lot of light in the mornings.
black light
Put that light out!
A light was burning outside the front porch.
We turned off all the lights and went to sleep.
To get to our house, turn right at the third light.
Can you throw any light on this problem?
Picasso was one of the leading lights of the cubist movement.
I'm really seeing you in a different light today.
Magoon's governorship in Cuba was viewed in a negative light by many Cuban historians for years thereafter.
Hey, buddy, you got a light?
a Bengal light
This facade has eight south-facing lights.
The average length of a light on a 15×15 grid is 7 or 8.
We lit the fire to get some heat.
She lit her last match.
I used my torch to light the way home through the woods in the night.
This soggy match will not light.
Light the extra ball by amassing 500 million points in the wizard mode.
The room is light when the Sun shines through the window.
She had light skin.
Do you want your coffee light or black? -I like mine light.
a light load a lighter backpack after having removed the books light weapons
feathers and cork are light oil is lighter than water
to issue light coin
a light aircraft a light tank
light infantry; a troop of light horse
if a ship is light or partially loaded the light draft of a vessel, or its light displacement
the light locomotives a locomotive may be moved light
a light bread sponge cake is a light cake
This light beer still gets you drunk if you have enough of it.
a light drizzle//a light rain was falling//a light snow set in
This artist clearly had a light, flowing touch.
light duties around the house
I made some light comment, and we moved on.
a light, vain person; a light mind
Ogden Nash was a writer of light verse.
light sleep; light anesthesia
I prefer to travel light.
I lit upon a rare book in a second-hand bookseller's.
She fell out of the window but luckily lit on her feet.
I like my coffee light.
a light load ; a lighter backpack after having removed the books ; light weapons
feathers and cork are light ; oil is lighter than water
a light bread ; sponge cake is a light cake
God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
… phosphenes—the random blotches and tiny speckles of light you see when you close your eyes or in total darkness …
… was up each morning at the first light …
the lights in the sky
"… I crawled back to bed, and blew out the lights. …"
… lights can flicker when bulbs are not screwed in tightly …
always washed the lights separately from the darks
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
… reaching out and groping for a pathway to the light.
facts brought to light
saw the matter in a different light
in the light of the fire
The large windows allow in lots of natural light.
shed some light on the problem
… worship according to one's lights …
a literary light among current writers
listened with a fiery light burning in her eyes
waited for the light to change
the artist's use of light and shadow
asked a stranger for a light
a light airy room
light hair
light blue
The match wouldn't light.
light a candle
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools / The way to dusty death.
rockets light up the sky
a smile lit up her face
a light box
a light truck
aluminum is a light metal
a light coin
the allegations are no light matter
light rain
a light lunch
a light sleeper
a light touch/breeze
light print
a light illness
light work
light on his feet
light conduct
… a man of light nature and shifty methods …
in a light mood
light cavalry
a light cruiser
light cream/mayonnaise/syrup
a light soup
a light crust
light soil
felt light in the head
light verse
light comedy
the ship returned light
light industry
a light syllable
a light voice
three chips light
light on experience
a light drinker
were told to arrive early and pack light
a bird lit on the lawn
lite beer
lite salad dressing
lite news
he read poetry to her by the light of the moon
turn off the light when you go to bed
a leading light in the acting profession
with the coming of light we could see all the damage that the storm had caused
It was no problem carrying the suitcase up the stairs since it was light.
a little light work was all it took to straighten up the room
traffic on the highway seems to be very light today
the dancer was exceptionally light on her feet
light punishment to fit a minor offense
the waves had an especially light foam at their crests because of the strong breeze
the light, airy room is exceptionally cheerful
we painted the walls a light blue
her light skin tends to freckle easily in the sun
we lit the kindling before adding the heavier logs
the lights from the TV cameras will light this room as though it were high noon
the bird lit on the branch and began to sing
he hurriedly lighted from the bus and started walking up the street
the novelist lit upon the plot for his latest thriller while visiting a remote lighthouse in Maine
in the light of the fire / The large windows allow in lots of natural light.
light rain / a light lunch
light cavalry / a light cruiser
light verse / light comedy
lite beer / lite salad dressing
Word Forms & Grammar
lights
light
light·er
light·est
lighter
lightest
lightish
lit
light·ed
light·ing
lighted
lighting
light·ish adjective
lite
in light of
in the light of
light (on or upon)
light on
light upon
light (countable and uncountable, plural lights)
light (third-person singular simple present lights, present participle lighting, simple past and past participle lit or (now uncommon) lighted or (obsolete) light)
light (comparative lighter, superlative lightest)
light (plural lights)
light (third-person singular simple present lights, present participle lighting, simple past and past participle lighted)
light (third-person singular simple present lights, present participle lighting, simple past and past participle lit or lighted or (obsolete) light)
Words That Rhyme With Light
Origin of Light
Origin 1: Middle English liht, light, going back to Old English lēoht, Anglian lēht, going back to Germanic *leuh-t-, neuter noun (whence also Old Frisian liācht "light," Old Saxon lioht, Middle Dutch licht, lich, Old High German lioht), probably syncopated from an earlier consonantal stem *leuhađa-, as in Gothic liuhaþ "light," derivative of an Indo-European base *leu̯k- "become bright," whence also Old Irish lóchet "flash of lightning," Welsh llug "light, radiance," llug y dydd "daybreak," amlwg "clear, easily seen" (< *ambi-luk- with zero-grade), Latin lūceō, lūcēre "to emit light, shine" (Old Latin, "to cause to shine," with o-grade *lou̯k-), lūc-, lūx "light," Old Church Slavic luča "ray of light," Russian luč (genitive lučá), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian lûč "kindling wood, torch" (< Slavic *lou̯k-), Old Prussian luckis "piece of firewood," Greek leukós "bright, shining, white," Armenian loys "light," Tocharian B lukṣäṃ "(s/he) brings light to, illuminates,"Sanskrit rócate "(it) shines, is bright," Avestan raociṇt- "brightening," Hittite lukta "it becomes light, dawns"
Origin 2: Middle English lyht, light, going back to Old English lēoht, Anglian lēht "filled with light, bright, clear," going back to Germanic *leuhta- (whence also Old Frisian liācht, licht "light, bright," Old Saxon lioht, Middle Dutch licht, lecht, Old High German lioht, liuhti), going back to Indo-European *leu̯k-to-, probably verbal adjective from the base *leu̯k- "become bright" light:1
Origin 3: Middle English lihten, lighten "to emit light, shine, dawn, shed light on, light (a fire, a candle), set fire to, illuminate," going back to Old English līohtan, līehtan, Anglian līhtan "to give light, become light, light (a candle)," going back to Germanic *leuhtije- (whence also Old Saxon liuhtan "to shine," Middle Dutch luchten, Old High German liuhten, Gothic liuhtjan "to give light"), weak verb derivative from *leuhta- "bright, light:2"
Origin 4: Middle English, from Old English lēoht; akin to Old High German līhti light, Latin levis, Greek elachys small
Origin 5: Middle English, from Old English līhtan; akin to Old English lēoht light in weight
Origin 6: From Middle English light, liht, leoht, from Old English lēoht, from Proto-West Germanic *leuht, from Proto-Germanic *leuhtą, from Proto-Indo-European *lewktom, from the root *lewk- (“to shine”).
Origin 7: From Middle English lighten, lihten (“to emit light, shine; of fire: to blaze, burn; to set fire to; etc.”),[1] from Old English līehtan (West Saxon), līhtan (“to give light, illuminate, shine”) (Anglian, Late West Saxon), from Proto-Germanic *liuhtijan (“to illuminate, shine”), from Proto-Germanic *liuhtijaną (“to give light, shine”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to shine; to see”).[2]
Origin 8: From Middle English light, liht, leoht, from Old English lēoht (“luminous, bright, light, clear, resplendent, renowned, beautiful”), from Proto-Germanic *leuhtaz (“light”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“light”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian ljoacht (“light”), Dutch licht, German licht.
Origin 9: From Middle English light, liȝt, lyghte, from Old English lēht, lēoht, līht, from Proto-West Germanic *lį̄ht, from Proto-Germanic *linhtaz or *līhtaz (“light (in weight)”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- (“lightweight”).
First Known Use
before 12th century
before 12th centuryi
1962
How Do You Say Light?
Light is pronounced /ˈlīt/ and has 1 syllable.
Questions People Ask About Light
Is light a noun or an adjective?
Light is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as an adjective, a verb and an adverb.
What is another word for light?
You can replace light with words such as frivolous, clear and bright. See the full list of light synonyms and antonyms.
What is the opposite of light?
The opposite of light can be expressed with words like heavy, dark, obliterate and extinguish.
What is the plural of light?
The plural of light is lights.
What is the past tense of light?
The past tense of light is lit. The present participle is lighting.