Pit

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪt

From Middle English, from Old English pytt ("pit, hole in the ground, well, grave, pustule, pockmark"), from Proto-Germanic *putjaz ("pit, well"), from Latin puteus ("trench, pit, well"), from Proto-Indo-European *pewǝ- ("to beat, hew"). Cognate with West Frisian pet ("pit"), Eastern Frisian put ("pit"), Dutch put ("well, pockmark"), German Pfütze ("puddle, pool"), Danish pyt ("pit"), Icelandic pytt ("pit").

Full definition of pit

Noun

1. A hole in the ground.
2. (motor racing) An area at a motor racetrack used for refueling and repairing the vehicles during a race.
3. (music) A section of the marching band containing mallet percussion instruments and other large percussion instruments too large to march, such as the tam tam. Also, the area on the sidelines where these instruments are placed.
4. A mine.
5. (archaeology) 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.
6. (trading) A trading pit.
7. (in the plural, with the, idiomatic, slang) Something particularly unpleasant.
   His circus job was the pits, but at least he was in show business.
8. The bottom part of.
   I felt pain in the pit of my stomach.
9. (colloquial) Armpit, oxter.
10. (aviation) A luggage hold.
11. (countable) A small surface hole or depression, a fossa.
• 2013-07-20, Welcome to the plastisphere, researchers noticed many of their pieces of 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, ….
12. The indented mark left by a pustule, as in smallpox.
13. The grave, or underworld.
• MiltonBack to the infernal pit I drag thee chained.
• Bible, Job xxxiii. 18He keepeth back his soul from the pit.
14. An enclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats.
• John Lockeas fiercely as two gamecocks in the pit
15. 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.
16. Part of a casino which typically holds tables for blackjack, craps, roulette, and other games.

Derived terms

Verb

1. (transitive) To make pits in.Exposure to acid rain pitted the metal.
2. To put (a dog) into a pit for fighting.
3. (transitive) To bring (something) into opposition with something else.Are you ready to pit your wits against one of the world's greatest puzzles?
• 22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Gameshttp://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/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.
4. (intransitive, motor racing) To return to the pits during a race for refuelling, tyre changes, repairs etc.

From Dutch pit ("kernel, core"), from Middle Dutch pitte, from Proto-Germanic *pittan (compare Middle Franconian Pfitze ("pimple")), oblique of *piþō. Compare pith.

Noun

1. A seed inside a fruit; a stone or pip inside a fruit.
2. A shell in a drupe containing a seed.

Verb

1. (transitive) To remove the stone from a stone fruit or the shell from a drupe.One must pit a peach to make it ready for a pie.

Anagrams

• tip
• tpi, TPI