A well lighted room or a well lit room?

June 23, 2026 12:15 am

First, a quick correction: both expressions should be hyphenated. So, the question should be: “A well-lighted room or well-lit room?” The reason is that when you generate an adjective by joining two words, the two terms should be hyphenated: a two-night show, a double-edged sword, the phone-swapping arrangement, etc.

Then, the main question: is it well-lighted or well-lit? Here, we are indirectly looking at the past tense and participle forms of the word “light,” when used as a verb. Is it lighted or lit?

The fact is that “light” is another example of irregular verbs — one that does not follow the regular/predictable way of adding -d or -ed to the base verb. Unlike come, go, beat, and swim, etc., each of which has just one past tense/participle form (came, went, beaten, swum), “light” has two past tense/participle forms, which are “lighted” and “lit.”

In other words, both are correct:

The video was recorded in a well-lit room. (Correct)

The video was recorded in a well-lighted room. (Correct)

The well-lit hall is our regular venue. (Correct)

The well-lighted hall is our regular venue. (Correct)

While both are correct, it must be noted that “well-lit” is more standard and popular:

Have you lit the room? (Correct and more popular)

Have you lighted the room? (Also correct but considered older)

Between light and lighten

“Light” and “lighten” do not mean the same thing in spite of their resemblance. They are used in different contexts — to the extent that interchanging them will spark a major error. You can light up a venue, meaning to illuminate an area. Figuratively, it describes a person whose vibrant presence, charisma, or genuine joy brings excitement, warmth, and a cheerful atmosphere to a room or social gathering, according to the Cambridge Dictionary. But “lighten” indicates making something less heavy, less dark, or less burdensome. You can lighten a colour, chemical, or load, for instance:

They used floodlights to lighten up the garden for the evening party. (Wrong)

They used floodlights to light up the garden for the evening party. (Correct)

He lighted the atmosphere with some jokes. (Wrong)

He lightened the atmosphere with some jokes. (Correct)

Get the matches and lighten the stove. (Wrong)

Get the matches and light the stove. (Correct)

Akeem Lasisi

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