Meanings
nit1
plural nits
- A young louse.
- IrelandUKbroadlyA head louse regardless of its age.
- A minor shortcoming; the object of a nitpick.
- A nitpicker.
present singular third person nits · participle present nitting · participle past nitted · past nitted
- Multicultural London EnglishTo have the modus vivendi of a drug addict, to live the life of a nitty.
Can’t miss no dots Every shot let caused I’m hittin Used to bag it up in the toilet My mumsie thought I was shittin Ever seen a junky fittin? Ever stepped in a room full of needles? No I ain’t doin no nittin
2018, “Rolling Round”, HL8 and SimpzBeatz (music), performed by Sparko of OMH
nit2
plural nits
- A candela per square metre.
This brightness of this LCD screen is between 900 and 1000 nits.
nit3
nit4
plural nits
- card gamesA player with an overly cautious and reactive playing style.
NIT5
plural NITs
- IndiaabbreviationeducationAbbreviation of National Institute of Technology.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of nat (“logarithmic unit of information”).
Origin
nit · noun, verb
- Proto-Indo-European*-níd-
- Proto-Germanic*hnits
- Old Englishhnitu
- Middle Englishnite
- Englishnit
From Middle English nite, from Old English hnitu, from Proto-Germanic *hnits (compare Dutch neet, German Nisse, Norwegian nit), from Proto-Indo-European *-níd- (compare Scottish Gaelic sneadh, Lithuanian gli̇̀nda, Polish gnida, Albanian thëri, Ancient Greek κονίς (konís)).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →nit · noun
- Latinnitēre“to shine”
- Englishnit
From Latin nitēre (“to shine”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek κονίς
- κονίς (konís)egg of a louse
Arabic صُغْبَة
- صُغْبَة (ṣuḡba)egg of a louse
Basque bartz
- bartzegg of a louse
Bengali নিক, লিকি
- নিক (nik)egg of a louse
- লিকি (liki)egg of a louse
Bulgarian гни́да
- гни́да (gnída)egg of a louse
Catalan llémena
- llémenaegg of a louse
Chinese Mandarin 蟣子 /虮子, 傻瓜
- 蟣子 /虮子 (jǐzi)egg of a louse
- 傻瓜 (shǎguā)slang: fool, nitwit
- 笨蛋 (bèndàn)slang: fool, nitwit
Czech hnida
- hnidaegg of a louse
Danish gnid, luseæg
- gnidegg of a louse
- luseægegg of a louse
- fjolsslang: fool, nitwit
- kvajslang: fool, nitwit
Dutch neet, neet
- neetegg of a louse
- neetyoung louse
Esperanto pedikovo, pediklarvo
- pedikovoegg of a louse
- pediklarvoyoung louse
Estonian täimuna, saere
- täimunaegg of a louse
- saereegg of a louse
- tingegg of a louse
- täivastneyoung louse
- nümfyoung louse
- pusakeyoung louse
- kihuyoung louse
- tingyoung louse
Finnish saivare, saivar
- saivareegg of a louse
- saivaregg of a louse
- dilleslang: fool, nitwit
French lente
- lenteegg of a louse
German Nisse
- Nisseegg of a louse
Greek κονίδα
- κονίδα (konída)egg of a louse
Hawaiian liha
- lihaegg of a louse
Hebrew ביצת כינה
- ביצת כינה (betsát kiná)egg of a louse
Hungarian serke
- serkeegg of a louse
Icelandic nit
- nitegg of a louse
Indonesian telur kutu
- telur kutuegg of a louse
Irish sniodh
- sniodhegg of a louse
Italian lendine
- lendineegg of a louse
Japanese 寄生虫の卵
- 寄生虫の卵 (kiseichū no tamago)egg of a louse
Korean 서캐
- 서캐 (seokae)egg of a louse
Latin lēns
- lēnsegg of a louse
Lithuanian glinda
- glindaegg of a louse
Māori riha, rihariha
- rihaegg of a louse
- riharihaegg of a louse
Norwegian gnett
- gnettegg of a louse
Persian رشک
- رشک (rešk)egg of a louse
Polish gnida
- gnidaegg of a louse
Portuguese lêndea
- lêndeaegg of a louse
Punjabi ਨਿਤ
- ਨਿਤ (nit)egg of a louse
Romanian lindină
- lindinăegg of a louse
Russian гни́да, деби́л
- гни́да (gnída)egg of a louse
- деби́л (debíl)slang: fool, nitwit
Scottish Gaelic sneadh
- sneadhegg of a louse
Slovak hnida
- hnidaegg of a louse
Spanish liendre
- liendreegg of a louse
Swedish gnet
- gnetegg of a louse
Tagalog lisa
- lisaegg of a louse
Tamil ஈர், நமுடு
- ஈர் (īr)egg of a louse
- நமுடு (namuṭu)young louse
Thai เล็น
- เล็น (len)egg of a louse
Turkish sirke, yavşak
- sirkeegg of a louse
- yavşakyoung louse
Ukrainian гни́да
- гни́да (hnýda)egg of a louse
Urdu لِیکھ, لِیکھ
- لِیکھ (līkh)egg of a louse
- لِیکھ (līkh)young louse
Vietnamese trứng chấy, trứng rận
- trứng chấyegg of a louse
- trứng rậnegg of a louse
Welsh nedd
- neddegg of a louse
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with nit
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
nit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nit
“nit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nit. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nit,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nit.
Source: nit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.