noting a commercial product that is low in calories or low in any substance considered undesirable, as compared with a product of the same type: used especially in labeling or advertising commercial products.
lite beer.
noting a version that is comparatively less extreme, profound, advanced, etc., than the typical version (often used postpositively): The lite version of the app is available for mobile download.
The film glossed over the dangers of the experiment with a science-lite explanation.
The lite version of the app is available for mobile download.
(of food and drink) containing few calories or little alcohol or fat
denoting a more restrained or less extreme version of a person or thing
reggae lite
What does -lite mean? The combining form -lite is used like a suffix meaning “mineral” or "fossil." It is often used in scientific terms, especially in mineralogy. The form -lite comes from Greek líthos, meaning “stone.” The Latin translation of líthos is saxum, meaning “stone,” as in saxifrage, a plant named for its tendency to grow in the clefts in rocks. What are variants of -lite?In some rare instances, -lite is spelled with a -y-, becoming -lyte. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article about -lyte.
First recorded in 1965–70; an informal, simplified spelling of light 2 ( def. )
< French, simplified form of -lithe < Greek líthos stone; similarly German -lit, earlier -lith
Lite is how many advertisers and companies spell "light," to describe a product that has less fat, fewer calories, and so on. For example, lite cream cheese is the choice of many dieters. If you add lite to the beginning of a word, it usually means lower in calories. Lite beer, sodas, and cookies all contain fewer calories than the regular versions. If you hyphenate lite at the end of a word, it suggests something is lower in substance than the original, like a political leader whose speech to voters might be policy-lite, meaning it does not focus just on laws. Otherwise, you're better off with the light spelling.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last July, I made the case in this magazine that a new form of stagflation, which I called stagflation lite, was on the horizon for the U.S. economy.
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
In short, epigenetics is, at most, Lamarckism lite.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
From diet and "lite" foods and drinks to expensive "superfoods," one constant across these changing trends has been the moralization of food as "good" or "bad."
From Salon • Jan. 30, 2023
Moreover, it is important when evaluating outcomes to recognize that the choice for many Americans is not between a “real” lawyer and some kind of lawyer lite.
From Slate • Oct. 17, 2022
It’s a school ring, like the kind you get in college, and it looks old and worn and has a red gem in lite center.
From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
