Loading page
say it: lahyt
light is an adjective, noun, verb and adverb meaning "of comparatively little physical weight or density". It is pronounced /ˈlaɪt/ — lahyt. It carries 48 recorded senses.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
“a light load”
“magnesium is a light metal--having a specific gravity of 1.74 at 20 degrees C”
(used of color) having a relatively small amount of coloring agent
“light blue”
“light colors such as pastels”
“a light-colored powder”
of the military or industry; using (or being) relatively small or light arms or equipment
“light infantry”
“light cavalry”
“light industry”
“light weapons”
not great in degree or quantity or number
“a light sentence”
“a light accent”
“casualties were light”
“light snow was falling”
“light misty rain”
“light smoke from the chimney”
characterized by or emitting light
“a room that is light when the shutters are open”
“the inside of the house was airy and light”
(used of vowels or syllables) pronounced with little or no stress
“a syllable that ends in a short vowel is a light syllable”
“a weak stress on the second syllable”
easily assimilated in the alimentary canal; not rich or heavily seasoned
“a light diet”
moving easily and quickly; nimble
“the dancer was light and graceful”
“a lightsome buoyant step”
“walked with a light tripping step”
(physics, chemistry) not having atomic weight greater than average
“light water is ordinary water”
chemistry
weak and likely to lose consciousness
“suddenly felt faint from the pain”
“was sick and faint from hunger”
“felt light in the head”
“a swooning fit”
“light-headed with wine”
“light-headed from lack of sleep”
marked by temperance in indulgence
“abstemious with the use of adverbs”
“a light eater”
“a light smoker”
“ate a light supper”
less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so
“a light pound”
“a scant cup of sugar”
“regularly gives short weight”
intended primarily as entertainment; not serious or profound
“light verse”
“a light comedy”
designed for ease of movement or to carry little weight
“light aircraft”
“a light truck”
having relatively few calories
“diet cola”
“light (or lite) beer”
“lite (or light) mayonnaise”
“a low-cal diet”
(physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
“the light was filtered through a soft glass window”
physics
any device serving as a source of illumination
“he stopped the car and turned off the lights”
a particular perspective or aspect of a situation
“although he saw it in a different light, he still did not understand”
the quality of being luminous; emitting or reflecting light
“its luminosity is measured relative to that of our sun”
a condition of spiritual awareness; divine illumination
“follow God's light”
the visual effect of illumination on objects or scenes as created in pictures
“he could paint the lightest light and the darkest dark”
having abundant light or illumination
“they played as long as it was light”
“as long as the lighting was good”
mental understanding as an enlightening experience
“he finally saw the light”
“can you shed light on this problem?”
merriment expressed by a brightness or gleam or animation of countenance
“he had a sparkle in his eye”
“there's a perpetual twinkle in his eyes”
a divine presence believed by Quakers to enlighten and guide the soul
a visual warning signal
“they saw the light of the beacon”
“there was a light at every corner”
make lighter or brighter
“This lamp lightens the room a bit”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for light come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.