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nit
1[ nit ]
noun
- the egg of a parasitic insect, especially of a louse, often attached to a hair or a fiber of clothing.
- the young of such an insect.
nit
2[ nit ]
noun
- a nitwit.
nit
3[ nit ]
noun
- a unit of luminous intensity equal to one candela per square meter. : nt
nit
1/ nɪt /
noun
- informal.short for nitwit
nit
2/ nɪt /
noun
- a unit of luminance equal to 1 candela per square metre
nit
3/ nɪt /
noun
- a unit of information equal to 1.44 bits Also callednepit
nit
4/ nɪt /
noun
- keep nit informal.to keep watch, esp during illegal activity
nit
5/ nɪt /
noun
- the egg of a louse, especially when adhering to human hair
- the larva of a louse or similar insect
Word History and Origins
Origin of nit1
Origin of nit2
Word History and Origins
Origin of nit1
Origin of nit2
Origin of nit3
Origin of nit4
Example Sentences
Jimmy struggles to tell Alice and in a darkly humourous moment, blurting out, "Speaking of cars, do you remember what happened to your mom in one? Godd**nit!"
I don’t have much to offer in the way of critical analysis, or picked nits.
According to the AAP “no healthy child or adolescent should be excluded from school or allowed to miss school time because of head lice or nits.”
“There’s a reason why we have had pasteurization for over 100 years —nit works.”
His hair was tangled into greasy locks, infested by nits.
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More About Nit
What does nit mean?
Nits are the eggs or young of small parasitic insects, most commonly lice. They are especially called this when they are attached to hair.
Nit is the basis of the word nitpick. Nit is also used as an insult referring to a stupid person, though in this case it’s a shortening of the word nitwit, which may or may not be related.
Example: Your scalp won’t be free of lice until you remove all the nits.
Where does nit come from?
The first records of nit come from before the 900s. It comes from the Old English hnitu, and many languages have similar words that all mean the same thing.
Lice have plagued humans for ages, and to get rid of every last louse (the singular form of lice) you have to pick out every last nit. The image of picking nits out of someone’s hair gives us the word nitpick (or nit–pick), meaning “to point out the very minor flaws or mistakes in something.” People sometimes use the word nit (in humorous reference to the word nitpick) as a noun meaning “a minor issue, flaw, or complaint,” as in I have just a few nits to pick with your paper.
Nit can be synonymous with nitwit (“a stupid or foolish person”), but the origin of nit in nitwit is uncertain. It may be a reference to louse eggs (which is a pretty sick insult), but it could also derive from an informal German word for not. The origin of nitty in nitty-gritty is also uncertain.
Nit is also used in a few contexts that are completely unrelated to louse eggs. In Australian slang, to keep nit is to keep watch. In physics, it’s a unit that measures luminance. In information science, a nit is a unit of information equal to 1.44 bits, also called a nepit. The word knit is completely unrelated.
Did you know ... ?
How is nit used in real life?
Nit is most commonly used in discussions of lice.
“No nit” lice policies don’t follow the science. https://t.co/XQ6fY1eGPC
— Science News (@ScienceNews) June 18, 2019
Just found out that “nits” are baby lice, so “nit-picking” is actually SUPER valid and understandable.
— Colette Des Georges (@ColetteorCoco) June 20, 2018
4th and 1 at midfield and a punt? Come on Carroll, don't be such a nit. Try to think like belechick, not holmgren…
— coffee_mike (@coffee_mike) December 15, 2013
Try using nit!
Is nit used correctly in the following sentence?
I’d rather be called a nitpicker than pick actual nits.
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