Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nit

/nɪt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.09 in modern English

Syllables
nit
IPA
/nɪt/
3
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The egg of a louse.

noun

A young louse.

noun

A head louse regardless of its age.

British usage

noun

A fool, a nitwit.

British usage; Slang

noun

A minor shortcoming; the object of a nitpick.

noun

A nitpicker.

verb

To have the modus vivendi of a drug addict, to live the life of a nitty.

noun

A candela per square metre.

Example Sentences

Etymology

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)).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: nite, hnitu, *hnits, *-níd-, nitēre

Usage

Inflected Forms

nits (plural) nits (present, singular) nitting (participle, present) nitted (participle, past) nitted (past)

Derived Forms

nitgrass nitpicker nitpicking nitpicky nitter NITian

Phrases

nit comb nit-keeper nit nurse nit-picking nit-noid

Frequently Paired Words

nitty nit-noid

Synonyms

nat dickies

Homonyms

knit gnit

Rhymes With

it shit bit hit fit sit split admit quit kit commit submit

Questions

How do you pronounce nit?
The recorded pronunciation is /nɪt/.
What does nit mean?
The egg of a louse.
Where does nit come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce nit

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “nit”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/nɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “nit”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “nit” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.