Meaning of light in English
Verb
lightEtymology
Old English līhtan(in light (sense 2); also ‘lessen the weight of’), from light; compare with alightDefinitions
1. make lighter or brighterExamples
- « This lamp lightens the room a bit »
- 2. begin to smoke
Examples
- « After the meal, some of the diners lit up »
- 3. to come to rest, settle
Examples
- « Misfortune lighted upon him »
- 4. cause to start burning
Examples
- « subject to fire or great heat »
- « Great heat can ignite almost any dry matter »
- « Light a cigarette »
Antonyms
- 5. fall to somebody by assignment or lot
Examples
- « The task fell to me »
- « It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims »
- 6. get off (a horse)
Classifying Adjective
lightDefinitions
1. used of vowels or syllablesExamples
- « 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 »
Synonyms
- 2. easily assimilated in the alimentary canal
Examples
- « not rich or heavily seasoned »
- « a light diet »
Synonyms
- 3. (used of soil) loose and large-grained in consistency
Examples
- « light sandy soil »
Synonyms
- 4. (of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims
Examples
- « efforts to obtain a clean bass in orchestral recordings »
- « clear laughter like a waterfall »
- « clear reds and blues »
- « a light lilting voice like a silver bell »
Synonyms
- 5. moving easily and quickly
Examples
- « nimble »
- « the dancer was light and graceful »
- « a lightsome buoyant step »
- « walked with a light tripping step »
Synonyms
- 6. demanding little effort
Examples
- « not burdensome »
- « light housework »
- « light exercise »
Synonyms
- 7. weak and likely to lose consciousness
Examples
- « 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 »
Synonyms
- 8. very thin and insubstantial
Examples
- « thin paper »
- « flimsy voile »
- « light summer dresses »
Synonyms
- 9. less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so
Examples
- « a light pound »
- « a scant cup of sugar »
- « regularly gives short weight »
Synonyms
- 10. having little importance
Examples
- « losing his job was no light matter »
Synonyms
- 11. intended primarily as entertainment
Examples
- « not serious or profound »
- « light verse »
- « a light comedy »
Synonyms
- 12. silly or trivial
Examples
- « idle pleasure »
- « light banter »
- « light idle chatter »
Synonyms
- 13. having a spongy or flaky texture
Examples
- « well-leavened »
- « light pastries »
Synonyms
- 14. designed for ease of movement or to carry little weight
Examples
- « light aircraft »
- « a light truck »
Synonyms
- 15. having relatively few calories
Examples
- « diet cola »
- « light (or lite) beer »
- « lite (or light) mayonnaise »
- « a low-cal diet »
Synonyms
- 16. (of sleep) easily disturbed
Examples
- « in a light doze »
- « a light sleeper »
- « a restless wakeful night »
Synonyms
- 17. casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior
Examples
- « her easy virtue »
- « he was told to avoid loose (or light) women »
- « wanton behavior »
Synonyms
Adverb
lightDefinitions
1. with few burdensExamples
- « experienced travellers travel light »
Noun
lightEtymology
Old English lēoht, līht (noun and adjective), līhtan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch licht and German Licht, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek leukos‘white’ and Latin lux‘light’Definitions
1. (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensationExamples
- « the light was filtered through a soft glass window »
- 2. any device serving as a source of illumination
Examples
- « he stopped the car and turned off the lights »
- 3. a particular perspective or aspect of a situation
Examples
- « although he saw it in a different light, he still did not understand »
- 4. the quality of being luminous
Examples
- « emitting or reflecting light »
- « its luminosity is measured relative to that of our sun »
- 5. an illuminated area
Examples
- « he stepped into the light »
- 6. a condition of spiritual awareness
Examples
- « divine illumination »
- « follow God's light »
- 7. the visual effect of illumination on objects or scenes as created in pictures
Examples
- « he could paint the lightest light and the darkest dark »
- 8. a person regarded very fondly
Examples
- « the light of my life »
- 9. mental understanding as an enlightening experience
Examples
- « he finally saw the light »
- « can you shed light on this problem? »
- 10. having abundant light or illumination
Examples
- « they played as long as it was light »
- « as long as the lighting was good »
Antonyms
- 11. public awareness
Examples
- « it brought the scandal to light »
- 12. brightness and animation of countenance
Examples
- « he had a sparkle in his eye »
- 13. a divine presence believed by Quakers to enlighten and guide the soul
- 14. a visual warning signal
Examples
- « they saw the light of the beacon »
- « there was a light at every corner »
- 15. a device for lighting or igniting fuel or charges or fires
Examples
- « do you have a light? »
Qualitative Adjective
lightEtymology
Old English lēocht, līht (noun), lēohte (adverb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch licht and German leicht, from an Indo-European root shared by lungDefinitions
1. of comparatively little physical weight or densityExamples
- « a light load »
- « magnesium is a light metal--having a specific gravity of 1.74 at 20 degrees C »
Synonyms
Antonyms
- 2. (used of color) having a relatively small amount of coloring agent
Examples
- « light blue »
- « light colors such as pastels »
- « a light-colored powder »
Synonyms
Antonyms
- 3. of the military or industry
Examples
- « using (or being) relatively small or light arms or equipment »
- « light infantry »
- « light cavalry »
- « light industry »
- « light weapons »
Synonyms
Antonyms
- 4. not great in degree or quantity or number
Examples
- « a light sentence »
- « a light accent »
- « casualties were light »
- « light snow was falling »
- « light misty rain »
- « light smoke from the chimney »
Synonyms
Antonyms
- 5. psychologically light
Examples
- « especially free from sadness or troubles »
- « a light heart »
Synonyms
Antonyms
- 6. characterized by or emitting light
Examples
- « a room that is light when the shutters are open »
- « the inside of the house was airy and light »
Synonyms
- ablaze(p)
- inflamed
- reddened
- bioluminescent
- bright
- candescent
- floodlit
- floodlighted
- fluorescent
- illuminated
- lighted
- lit
- well-lighted
- illuminating
- incandescent
- candent
- lamplit
- lighting-up(a)
- livid
- phosphorescent
- sunlit
- sunstruck
- white
- luminescent
Antonyms
- 7. of little intensity or power or force
Examples
- « the light touch of her fingers »
- « a light breeze »
Synonyms
Antonyms
- 8. (physics, chemistry) not having atomic weight greater than average
Examples
- « light water is ordinary water »
Antonyms