slight
[sl̥ɐɪt]adjective, verb, noun
slight is spelled S-L-I-G-H-T: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,934th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “sleight vs slight” about 90 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, slight means “Minor; small in amount” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in slight?
| Letters | 6: S-L-I-G-H-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,934th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is slight?
Slight appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,934th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce slight?
- /slaɪt/
- British [slɑjt]
- US [sl̥ɐɪt]
Slight has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-slight.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with slight
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: sleight (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with slight?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as slight.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lights.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of slight
- slighter comparative
- slightest superlative
- slights present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- slighting participle, present
- slighted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does slight mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Minor; small in amount
- 2
Gentle or weak, not aggressive or powerful.
give it a slight kick
- 3
Not thorough; superficial.
make a slight examination
- 4
Trifling; unimportant; insignificant.
we made a slight mistake
- 5
archaicrareNot far away in space or time.
in the slight future
- 6
Of slender build.
a slight but graceful woman
- 7
Even, smooth or level.
A slight stone
- 8
Still; with little or no movement on the surface.
The sea was slight and calm
verb
- 1
To treat as unimportant or not worthy of attention; to make light of.
- 2
To give lesser weight or importance to.
- 3
To treat (someone or something) with disdain or neglect, usually out of prejudice, hatred, or jealousy; to ignore disrespectfully; to skimp on one's duties toward.
- 4
To act negligently or carelessly.
- 5
To render no longer defensible by full or partial demolition.
- 6
obsoleteTo make even or level.
- 7
To throw heedlessly.
noun
- 1
The act of ignoring or snubbing; a deliberate act of neglect or discourtesy.
- 2
obsoleteSleight.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Slight in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | insignifiant, léger |
| German | geringfügig, leicht, gering, unbedeutend, wenig, schlank |
| Portuguese | insignificante, ligeiro, leve |
| Spanish | insignificante, leve, ligero, lene, lieve , falta de respeto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does slight come from?
From Middle English slight (“bad, of poor quality, unimportant, trivial, slender, slim, smooth, level”), from Old English sliht (“smooth, level”), from Proto-Germanic *slihtaz (“slippery, flat, level, plain”), related to English slick.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).