the hard stone, as of the plum, peach, or cherry, which contains the seed
Origin of pit
Dutch from Middle Dutch pitte, akin to pithtransitive verb
pit′ted, pit′ting to remove the pit from (a fruit)
Peach and peach pit
- The definition of a pit is a hole in the ground, or the hard stone in a fruit that contains the seed.
- An example of a pit is a deep hole in the mud.
- An example of a pit is the hard core of a peach.
- To pit is defined as to set in competition against someone or something.
An example of to pit is to turn someone against her best friend.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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pit
- a hole or cavity in the ground
- an abyss
- hell: used with the
- a covered hole used to trap wild animals; pitfall
- any concealed danger; trap; snare
- an enclosed area in which animals are kept or made to fight: a bear pit
- the shaft of a coal mine
- the coal mine itself
- a hollow or depression on a part of the human body: armpit
- a small hollow in a surface; specif., a depressed scar on the skin, as that resulting from smallpox
- an area below floor level or ground level
- Brit.
- the ground floor of a theater, esp. the part at the rear
- the spectators in that section
- the section, often below floor level, in front of the stage, where the orchestra sits
- the part of the floor of an exchange where a special branch of business is transacted: corn pit
- a work area for mechanics, often below floor level, for repairing and servicing automotive vehicles
- the area along the side of a track where racing cars make their pit stops
- in a casino, an area in which gambling tables are set up, specif., the area within a ring of such tables
- Bot. a tiny depression in a plant cell wall
Origin of pit
Middle English from Old English pytt from early West Germanic and North Germanic an unverified form puttia (from source Old Norse pyttr, German pfütze) from Classical Latin puteus, well, probably from Indo-European base an unverified form p?u-, to chop, cut from source Classical Latin pavire, to beat, striketransitive verb
pit′ted, pit′ting- to put, cast, or store in a pit
- to make pits in
- to mark with small scars: pitted by smallpox
- to set (cocks, etc.) in a pit to fight
- to set in competition (against)
- to become marked with pits
- to make a pit stop during an auto race
pit Idioms
the pits
- Slang the worst possible thing, place, condition, etc.
- pit (noun)
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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pit
noun
- A natural or artificial hole or cavity in the ground.
- a. An excavation for the removal of mineral deposits; a mine.b. The shaft of a mine.
- A concealed hole in the ground used as a trap; a pitfall.
- A small indentation in a surface: pits in a windshield.
- a. A natural hollow or depression in the body or an organ.b. A small indented scar left in the skin by smallpox or other eruptive disease; a pockmark.c. Zoology Either of a pair of depressions between the nostril and the eye of a pit viper that contain heat-sensing organs.d. Botany A cavity in the wall of a plant cell where there is no secondary wall, as in fibers, tracheids, and vessel elements.e. Informal An armpit.
- An enclosed, usually sunken area in which animals, such as dogs or gamecocks, are placed for fighting.
- a. The section directly in front of and below the stage of a theater, in which the musicians sit.b. Chiefly British The ground floor of a theater behind the stalls.
- a. The section of an exchange where trading in a specific commodity is carried on.b. The gambling area of a casino.
- a. A sunken area in a garage floor from which mechanics may work on cars.b. often pits Sports An area beside an auto racecourse where cars may be refueled or serviced during a race: pulled into the pits to have the tires rotated.
- a. Hell. Used with the.b. A miserable or depressing place or situation.c. pits Slang The worst. Used with the : “New York politics are the pits” ( Washington Star )
- Football The middle areas of the defensive and offensive lines.
verb
pit·ted, pit·ting, pitsverb
transitive- To mark with cavities, depressions, or scars: a surface pitted with craters.
- To set in direct opposition or competition: a war that pitted brother against brother.
- To place, bury, or store in a pit.
verb
intransitive- To become marked with pits.
- To retain an impression after being indented. Used of the skin.
- To stop at a refueling area during an auto race.
Origin of pit
Middle English from Old English pytt ultimately from Latin puteus well ; see pau-2 in Indo-European roots.noun
The single central kernel or stone of certain fruits, such as a peach or cherry.
transitive verb
pit·ted, pit·ting, pitsTo extract the pit from (a fruit).
Origin of pit
Dutch from Middle DutchTHE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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The hard, inner layer (the endocarp) of certain drupes that are valued for their flesh, such as peaches, cherries, or olives. Not in scientific use.
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Noun
(plural pits)
- A hole in the ground.
- (motor racing) An area at a motor racetrack used for refueling and repairing the vehicles during a race.
- (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.
- A mine.
- (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.
- (trading) A trading pit.
- (in the plural, with the, idiomatic, slang) Something particularly unpleasant.
- His circus job was the pits, but at least he was in show business.
- The bottom part of.
- I felt pain in the pit of my stomach.
- (colloquial) Armpit, oxter.
- (aviation) A luggage hold.
- (countable) A small surface hole or depression, a fossa.
- The indented mark left by a pustule, as in smallpox.
- The grave, or underworld.
- An enclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats.
- 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.
Verb
(third-person singular simple present pits, present participle pitting, simple past and past participle pitted)
- To make pits in.
- Exposure to acid rain pitted the metal.
- To put (a dog) into a pit for fighting.
- To bring (something) into opposition with something else.
- Are you ready to pit your wits against one of the world's greatest puzzles?
- (intransitive, motor racing) To return to the pits during a race for refuelling, tyre changes, repairs etc.
Origin
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 *pewÇ- (“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").
Noun
(plural pits)
Verb
(third-person singular simple present pits, present participle pitting, simple past and past participle pitted)
- 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.
Origin
From Dutch pit (“kernel, core"), from Middle Dutch pitte, from Proto-Germanic *pittan (compare Middle Franconian Pfitze (“pimple")), oblique of *piþÅ. Compare pith.
Noun
(plural PITs)
- Precision Immobilization Technique
- Pursuit Intervention Technique
- Parallel Immobilization Technique
- All three terms mean the same thing, a bumping technique used by U.S. police departments during car pursuits to force the pursued vehicle to abruptly turn sideways to the direction of travel, causing the driver to lose control and stop. Usually used in the phrase "PIT maneuver".
- (computing) Programmable interval timer
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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pit - Computer Definition
An indentation in an optical medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD. The laser beam is either absorbed in the pit or reflects off the non-indented areas, which are called "lands." Using various algorithms, the reflections are converted into 0 and 1 bits.
Pits and Lands
This microscopic view of a CD-ROM and DVD disc compares the track density and pits and lands, which account for 7.5 times as much data on the DVD. (Image courtesy of C-Cube Microsystems.)
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher. © 1981-2017 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved.
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pit - Investment & Finance Definition
The location of trading activity on futures or options exchanges that use open-outcry trading, a system in which traders shout out the prices they are willing to buy or sell contracts at. Around the pits are ascending steps, called rings, where support staff for traders stand.
Webster's New World Finance and Investment Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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pit - Medical Definition
n.
- A natural hollow or depression in the body or an organ.
- A small indented scar left in the skin by smallpox or other eruptive disease; a pockmark.
- A sharp-pointed depression in the enamel surface of a tooth, caused by faulty or incomplete calcification or formed by the confluent point of two or more lobes of enamel.
v.
- To mark with cavities, depressions, or scars.
- To retain an impression after being indented. Used of the skin.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Medicine © 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Sentence Examples
- A cold feeling began in the pit of her stomach.
- We're building a fire pit here for a campsite.
- I learned that lesson when Sasha tossed me in a pit with full-blooded demons and were-things.
- Heaviness settled into the pit of his stomach.
- Dread stirred at the pit of her stomach.
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