Pronunciations (2)
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/pɪt/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
- Received-Pronunciation
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[pʰɪʔt]
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
- Received-Pronunciation
Noun
A hole in the ground.
- Examples
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The meadow around the town is full of old pits.
27 Whoso diggeth a pit, shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will returne vpon him.
An area at a racetrack used for refueling and repairing the vehicles during a race.
- Examples
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Two drivers have already gone into the pit this early in the race.
The section of a marching band containing mallet percussion instruments and other large percussion instruments too large to be marched, such as the tam-tam; the front ensemble. Can also refer to the area on the sidelines where these instruments are placed.
A mine.
A hole or trench in the ground, excavated according to grid coordinates, so that the provenance of any feature observed and any specimen or artifact revealed may be established by precise measurement.
- Examples
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More examples (1)
The exact sites of Feng and Hao have yet to be verified, but seven pits containing chariots, horses and other Zhou burial objects were discovered at Fengxi, and a concentration of Western Zhou relics and tombs was found in the area of Doumen in Changan County on the east bank of the Feng River.
A trading pit.
An armpit.
Usage- Colloquial
A luggage hold.
A small surface hole or depression, a fossa.
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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More examples (1)
[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, […].
The indented mark left by a pustule, as in smallpox.
The grave, underworld or Hell.
- Examples
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Back to the infernal pit I drag thee chained.
He keepeth back his soul from the pit.
An enclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats.
- Examples
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as fiercely as two game-cocks in the pit
Formerly, that part of a theatre, on the floor of the house, below the level of the stage and behind the orchestra; now, in England, commonly the part behind the stalls; in the United States, the parquet; also, the occupants of such a part of a theatre.
Part of a casino which typically holds tables for blackjack, craps, roulette, and other games.
Only used in the pits.
Usage- in-plural
- Slang
- with the
- Examples
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His circus job was the pits, but at least he was in show business.
A mosh pit.
Usage- Slang
- Examples
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Because the museum was closed for renovation, the school decided to bring its fourth-graders to the pit at a Cannibal Corpse gig instead.
The center of the line.
- Examples
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The ball carrier can be with or without a football. For the “Head-On” tackle have the “Ball Carrier” stand right in front of the pit and face the tackler.
More examples (1)
“They don't call the middle of the line The Pit for nothing. We really do get like animals, trying to claw one another apart in there. It is very hard in The Pit. No matter how it seems, no matter what the score shows, it's always hard. […]
The emergency department of a hospital.
Usage- Slang
In tracheary elements, a section of the cell wall where the secondary wall is missing, and the primary wall is present. Pits generally occur in pairs and link two cells.
A bed.
Usage- Slang
- Examples
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Many Bacardi & Cokes later I climbed up into my pit and fell into a deep sleep, and woke up at one thirty in the morning and threw up my tea.
An undesirable location, especially an unclean one.
Usage- Informal
- Examples
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This house is a total pit. We've got to do some cleaning!
A bleak, depressing state of mind.
Usage- Figurative
- Examples
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He was in a pit of despair.
On a compact disc or similar recording medium, a tiny sunken area representing part of the encoded data.
- Antonyms
Verb
To make pits in; to mark with little hollows.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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Exposure to acid rain pitted the metal.
To put (an animal) into a pit for fighting.
Usage- Transitive
To bring (something) into opposition with something else.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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Are you ready to pit your wits against one of the world's greatest puzzles?
More examples (3)
For the 75 years since a district rebellion was put down, The Games have existed as an assertion of the Capital’s power, a winner-take-all contest that touts heroism and sacrifice—participants are called “tributes”— while pitting the districts against each other.
2017 August 25, Aukkarapon Niyomyat & Panarat Thepgumpanat, "Thai junta seeks Yingluck's arrest as former PM skips court verdict", in reuters.com, Reuters That movement, pitted against a Bangkok-centered royalist and pro-military elite, has been at the heart of years of turmoil.
2017 August 25, "Arrest threat as Yingluck Shinawatra misses verdict", in aljazeera.com, Al Jazeera Thaksin's ouster triggered years of upheaval and division that has pitted a poor, rural majority in the north that supports the Shinawatras against royalists, the military and their urban backers.
To return to the pits during a race for refuelling, tyre changes, repairs etc.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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More examples (1)
Bottas had to pit earlier than expected for fresh tyres. Hamilton followed him in next time around and the two drivers were instructed to stay off the kerbs to protect their tyres.
Noun
A seed inside a fruit; a stone or pip inside a fruit.
Usage- Northern-US
- Examples
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Near-synonym: pip
The core of an implosion nuclear weapon, consisting of the fissile material and any neutron reflector or tamper bonded to it.
- Examples
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[...] weapons "pits" (the plutonium components of nuclear weapons, named by analogy with the pit of a fruit such as a peach), [...].
The Nagasaki-type [bomb] [...] had a wider range of yield potential depending on the kind of fissile core and tamper assembly, or "pit," used in it.
Verb
To remove the stone from a stone fruit or the shell from a drupe.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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One must pit a peach to make it ready for a pie.
Noun
A pit bull terrier.
Usage- Informal
- Synonyms
- Examples
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I resolved to find all my pits good homes and to get out of the rescue and breeding business.
Verb
To use the PIT maneuver, especially during a car chase.
- Related words
Noun
a sizeable hole (usually in the ground)
- Synonyms
- Examples
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they dug a pit to bury the body
a concavity in a surface (especially an anatomical depression)
- Synonyms
the hard inner (usually woody) layer of the pericarp of some fruits (as peaches or plums or cherries or olives) that contains the seed
- Broader terms
- Examples
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you should remove the stones from prunes before cooking
(Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment
- Broader terms
- Examples
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a demon from the depths of the pit
an enclosure in which animals are made to fight
- Broader terms
(commodity exchange) the part of the floor of a commodity exchange where trading in a particular commodity is carried on
- Broader terms
(auto racing) an area at the side of a racetrack where the race cars are serviced and refueled
- Broader terms
a trap in the form of a concealed hole
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate
- Broader terms
- Examples
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a British term for ‘quarry’ is ‘stone pit’
lowered area in front of a stage where an orchestra accompanies the performers
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
a workplace consisting of a coal mine plus all the buildings and equipment connected with it
- Synonyms
Verb
set into opposition or rivalry
- Examples
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let them match their best athletes against ours
pit a chess player against the Russian champion
More examples (1)
He plays his two children off against each other
mark with a scar
- Examples
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The skin disease scarred his face permanently
remove the pits from
- Synonyms
- Examples
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pit plums and cherries