13 definitions found From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]: light adjective 1: 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" [ant: {heavy}] 2: (used of color) having a relatively small amount of coloring agent; "light blue"; "light colors such as pastels"; "a light-colored powder" [syn: {light-colored}] [ant: {dark}] 3: of the military or industry; using (or being) relatively small or light arms or equipment; "light infantry"; "light cavalry"; "light industry"; "light weapons" [ant: {heavy}] 4: 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" [ant: {heavy}] 5: psychologically light; especially free from sadness or troubles; "a light heart" [ant: {heavy}] 6: characterized by or emitting light; "a room that is light when the shutters are open"; "the inside of the house was airy and light" [ant: {dark}] 7: 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" [syn: {unaccented}, {weak}] 8: easily assimilated in the alimentary canal; not rich or heavily seasoned; "a light diet" 9: (used of soil) loose and large-grained in consistency; "light sandy soil" [syn: {friable}, {sandy}] 10: (of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims; "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" [syn: {clean}, {clear}, {unclouded}] 11: moving easily and quickly; nimble; "the dancer was light and graceful"; "a lightsome buoyant step"; "walked with a light tripping step" [syn: {lightsome}, {tripping}] 12: demanding little effort; not burdensome; "light housework"; "light exercise" 13: of little intensity or power or force; "the light touch of her fingers"; "a light breeze" [ant: {heavy}] 14: (physics, chemistry) not having atomic weight greater than average; "light water is ordinary water" [ant: {heavy}] 15: 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" [syn: {faint}, {swooning}, {light-headed}, {lightheaded}] 16: very thin and insubstantial; "thin paper"; "flimsy voile"; "light summer dresses" [syn: {flimsy}] 17: marked by temperance in indulgence; "abstemious meals"; "a light eater"; "a light smoker"; "ate a light supper" [syn: {abstemious}, {light(a)}] 18: less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so; "a light pound"; "a scant cup of sugar"; "regularly gives short weight" [syn: {scant(p)}, {short}] 19: having little importance; "losing his job was no light matter" 20: intended primarily as entertainment; not serious or profound; "light verse"; "a light comedy" 21: silly or trivial; "idle pleasure"; "light banter"; "light idle chatter" [syn: {idle}] 22: having a spongy or flaky texture; well-leavened; "light pastries" 23: designed for ease of movement or to carry little weight; "light aircraft"; "a light truck" 24: having relatively few calories; "diet cola"; "light (or lite) beer"; "lite (or light) mayonnaise"; "a low-cal diet" [syn: {lite}, {low-cal}] 25: (of sleep) easily disturbed; "in a light doze"; "a light sleeper"; "a restless wakeful night" [syn: {wakeful}] 26: casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior; "her easy virtue"; "he was told to avoid loose (or light) women"; "wanton behavior" [syn: {easy}, {loose}, {promiscuous}, {sluttish}, {wanton}] noun 1: (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation; "the light was filtered through a soft glass window" [syn: {visible light}, {visible radiation}] 2: any device serving as a source of illumination; "he stopped the car and turned off the lights" [syn: {light source}] 3: a particular perspective or aspect of a situation; "although he saw it in a different light, he still did not understand" 4: the quality of being luminous; emitting or reflecting light; "its luminosity is measured relative to that of our sun" [syn: {luminosity}, {brightness}, {brightness level}, {luminance}, {luminousness}] 5: an illuminated area; "he stepped into the light" 6: a condition of spiritual awareness; divine illumination; "follow God's light" [syn: {illumination}] 7: the visual effect of illumination on objects or scenes as created in pictures; "he could paint the lightest light and the darkest dark" [syn: {lightness}] 8: a person regarded very fondly; "the light of my life" 9: mental understanding as an enlightening experience; "he finally saw the light"; "can you shed light on this problem?" 10: having abundant light or illumination; "they played as long as it was light"; "as long as the lighting was good" [syn: {lighting}] [ant: {dark}] 11: public awareness; "it brought the scandal to light" 12: brightness and animation of countenance; "he had a sparkle in his eye" [syn: {sparkle}, {spark}] 13: a divine presence believed by Quakers to enlighten and guide the soul [syn: {Inner Light}, {Light Within}, {Christ Within}] 14: a visual warning signal; "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; "do you have a light?" [syn: {lighter}, {igniter}, {ignitor}] adverb: with few burdens; "experienced travellers travel light" [syn: {lightly}] verb 1: make lighter or brighter; "This lamp lightens the room a bit" [syn: {illume}, {illumine}, {light up}, {illuminate}] 2: begin to smoke; "After the meal, some of the diners lit up" [syn: {light up}, {fire up}] 3: to come to rest, settle; "Misfortune lighted upon him" [syn: {alight}, {perch}] 4: cause to start burning; subject to fire or great heat; "Great heat can ignite almost any dry matter"; "Light a cigarette" [syn: {ignite}] [ant: {snuff out}] 5: fall to somebody by assignment or lot; "The task fell to me"; "It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims" [syn: {fall}] 6: get off (a horse) [syn: {unhorse}, {dismount}, {get off}, {get down}] [also: {lit}] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]: Light \Light\, verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p. {Lighted} (l[imac]t"[e^]d) or {Lit} (l[i^]t); p. pr. & vb. n. {Lighting}.] [AS. l[=i]htan to alight orig., to relieve (a horse) of the rider's burden, to make less heavy, fr. l[=i]ht light. See {Light} not heavy, and cf. {Alight}, {Lighten} to make light.] 1. To dismount; to descend, as from a horse or carriage; to alight; -- with from, off, on, upon, at, in. When she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. --Gen. xxiv. 64. Slowly rode across a withered heath, And lighted at a ruined inn. --Tennyson. 2. To feel light; to be made happy. [Obs.] It made all their hearts to light. --Chaucer. 3. To descend from flight, and rest, perch, or settle, as a bird or insect. [The bee] lights on that, and this, and tasteth all. --Sir. J. Davies. On the tree tops a crested peacock lit. --Tennyson. 4. To come down suddenly and forcibly; to fall; -- with on or upon. On me, me only, as the source and spring Of all corruption, all the blame lights due. --Milton. 5. To come by chance; to happen; -- with on or upon; formerly with into. The several degrees of vision, which the assistance of glasses (casually at first lit on) has taught us to conceive. --Locke. They shall light into atheistical company. --South. And here we lit on Aunt Elizabeth, And Lilia with the rest. --Tennyson. From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]: Light \Light\ (l[imac]t), noun [OE. light, liht, AS. le['o]ht; akin to OS. lioht, D. & G. licht, OHG. lioht, Goth. liuha[thorn], Icel. lj[=o]s, L. lux light, lucere to shine, Gr. leyko's white, Skr. ruc to shine. [root]122. Cf. {Lucid}, {Lunar}, {Luminous}, {Lynx}.] 1. That agent, force, or action in nature by the operation of which upon the organs of sight, objects are rendered visible or luminous. Note: Light was regarded formerly as consisting of material particles, or corpuscules, sent off in all directions from luminous bodies, and traversing space, in right lines, with the known velocity of about 186,300 miles per second; but it is now generally understood to consist, not in any actual transmission of particles or substance, but in the propagation of vibrations or undulations in a subtile, elastic medium, or ether, assumed to pervade all space, and to be thus set in vibratory motion by the action of luminous bodies, as the atmosphere is by sonorous bodies. This view of the nature of light is known as the undulatory or wave theory; the other, advocated by Newton (but long since abandoned), as the corpuscular, emission, or Newtonian theory. A more recent theory makes light to consist in electrical oscillations, and is known as the electro-magnetic theory of light. 2. That which furnishes, or is a source of, light, as the sun, a star, a candle, a lighthouse, etc. Then he called for a light, and sprang in. --Acts xvi. 29. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. --Gen. i. 16. 3. The time during which the light of the sun is visible; day; especially, the dawn of day. The murderer, rising with the light, killeth the poor and needy. --Job xxiv. 14. 4. The brightness of the eye or eyes. He seemed to find his way without his eyes; For out o'door he went without their helps, And, to the last, bended their light on me. --Shak. 5. The medium through which light is admitted, as a window, or window pane; a skylight; in architecture, one of the compartments of a window made by a mullion or mullions. There were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks. --I Kings vii.4. 6. Life; existence. O, spring to light, auspicious Babe, be born ! --Pope. 7. Open view; a visible state or condition; public observation; publicity. The duke yet would have dark deeds darkly answered; he would never bring them to light. --Shak. 8. The power of perception by vision. My strength faileth me; as for the light of my eyes, it also is gone from me. --Ps. xxxviii. 10. 9. That which illumines or makes clear to the mind; mental or spiritual illumination; enlightenment; knowledge; information. He shall never know That I had any light of this from thee. --Shak. 10. Prosperity; happiness; joy; felicity. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall spring forth speedily. --Is. lviii. 8. 11. (Paint.) The manner in which the light strikes upon a picture; that part of a picture which represents those objects upon which the light is supposed to fall; the more illuminated part of a landscape or other scene; -- opposed to {shade}. Cf. {Chiaroscuro}. 12. Appearance due to the particular facts and circumstances presented to view; point of view; as, to state things fairly and put them in the right light. Frequent consideration of a thing . . . shows it in its several lights and various ways of appearance. --South. 13. One who is conspicuous or noteworthy; a model or example; as, the lights of the age or of antiquity. Joan of Arc, A light of ancient France. --Tennyson. 14. (Pyrotech.) A firework made by filling a case with a substance which burns brilliantly with a white or colored flame; as, a Bengal light. Note: Light is used figuratively to denote that which resembles physical light in any respect, as illuminating, benefiting, enlightening, or enlivening mankind. {Ancient lights} (Law), {Calcium light}, {Flash light}, etc. See under {Ancient}, {Calcium}, etc. {Light ball} (Mil.), a ball of combustible materials, used to afford light; -- sometimes made so as to be fired from a cannon or mortar, or to be carried up by a rocket. {Light barrel} (Mil.), an empty power barrel pierced with holes and filled with shavings soaked in pitch, used to light up a ditch or a breach. {Light dues} (Com.), tolls levied on ships navigating certain waters, for the maintenance of lighthouses. {Light iron}, a candlestick. [Obs.] {Light keeper}, a person appointed to take care of a lighthouse or light-ship. {Light money}, charges laid by government on shipping entering a port, for the maintenance of lighthouses and light-ships. {The light of the countenance}, favor; kindness; smiles. Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. --Ps. iv. 6. {Northern lights}. See {Aurora borealis}, under {Aurora}. {To bring to light}, to cause to be disclosed. {To come to light}, to be disclosed. {To see the light}, to come into the light; hence, to come into the world or into public notice; as, his book never saw the light. {To stand in one's own light}, to take a position which is injurious to one's own interest. From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]: Light \Light\ (l[imac]t), adjective [AS. le['o]ht. See {Light}, noun] [Compar. {Lighter} (l[imac]t"[~e]r); superl. {Lightest}.] 1. Having light; not dark or obscure; bright; clear; as, the apartment is light. 2. White or whitish; not intense or very marked; not of a deep shade; moderately colored; as, a light color; a light brown; a light complexion. From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]: Light \Light\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Lighted} (l[imac]t"[e^]d) or {Lit} (l[i^]t); p. pr. & vb. n. {Lighting}.] [AS. l[=y]htan, l[=i]htan, to shine. [root]122. See {Light}, noun] 1. To set fire to; to cause to burn; to set burning; to ignite; to kindle; as, to light a candle or lamp; to light the gas; -- sometimes with up. If a thousand candles be all lighted from one. --Hakewill. And the largest lamp is lit. --Macaulay. Absence might cure it, or a second mistress Light up another flame, and put out this. --Addison. 2. To give light to; to illuminate; to fill with light; to spread over with light; -- often with up. Ah, hopeless, lasting flames! like those that burn To light the dead. --Pope. One hundred years ago, to have lit this theater as brilliantly as it is now lighted would have cost, I suppose, fifty pounds. --F. Harrison. The sun has set, and Vesper, to supply His absent beams, has lighted up the sky. --Dryden. 3. To attend or conduct with a light; to show the way to by means of a light. His bishops lead him forth, and light him on. --Landor. {To light a fire}, to kindle the material of a fire. From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]: Light \Light\, verb (used without an object) 1. To become ignited; to take fire; as, the match will not light. 2. To be illuminated; to receive light; to brighten; -- with up; as, the room light up very well. From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]: Light \Light\, adjective [Compar. {Lighter} (l[imac]t"[~e]r); superl. {Lightest}.] [OE. light, liht, AS. l[=i]ht, le['o]ht; akin to D. ligt, G. leicht, OHG. l[=i]hti, Icel. l[=e]ttr, Dan. let, Sw. l["a]tt, Goth. leihts, and perh. to L. levis (cf. {Levity}), Gr. 'elachy's small, Skr. laghu light. [root]125.] 1. Having little, or comparatively little, weight; not tending to be the center of gravity with force; not heavy. These weights did not exert their natural gravity, . . . insomuch that I could not guess which was light or heavy whilst I held them in my hand. --Addison. 2. Not burdensome; easy to be lifted, borne, or carried by physical strength; as, a light burden, or load. Ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. --Matt. xi. 29, 30. 3. Easy to be endured or performed; not severe; not difficult; as, a light affliction or