pit 1 (p t)n.1. A natural or artificial hole or cavity in the ground. 2. a. An excavation for the removal of mineral deposits; a mine. b. The shaft of a mine. 3. A concealed hole in the ground used as a trap; a pitfall. 4. a. Hell. b. A miserable or depressing place or situation. c. pits Slang The worst. Used with the: "New York politics are the pits" Washington Star. 5. A small indentation in a surface: pits in a windshield. 6. 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. Informal An armpit. Often used in the plural. 7. An enclosed, usually sunken area in which animals, such as dogs or gamecocks, are placed for fighting. 8. 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. 9. a. The section of an exchange where trading in a specific commodity is carried on. b. The gambling area of a casino. 10. a. A sunken area in a garage floor from which mechanics may work on cars. b. Sports An area beside an auto racecourse where cars may be refueled or serviced during a race. Used with the. Often used in the plural. 11. Football The middle areas of the defensive and offensive lines. 12. Botany A cavity in the wall of a plant cell where there is no secondary wall, as in fibers, tracheids, and vessels. v. pit·ted, pit·ting, pits v.tr.1. To mark with cavities, depressions, or scars: a surface pitted with craters. 2. To set in direct opposition or competition: a war that pitted brother against brother. 3. To place, bury, or store in a pit. v.intr.1. To become marked with pits. 2. To retain an impression after being indented. Used of the skin. 3. To stop at a refueling area during an auto race.
[Middle English, from Old English pytt, ultimately from Latin puteus, well; see pau-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
pit 1 Noun 1. a large deep opening in the ground 2. a coal mine 3. Anat a. a small natural depression on the surface of a body or organ b. the floor of any natural bodily cavity: the pit of the stomach 4. Pathol a pockmark 5. a concealed danger or difficulty 6. an area at the side of a motor-racing track for servicing or refuelling vehicles 7. the pit hell 8. the area occupied by the orchestra in a theatre 9. an enclosure for fighting animals or birds 10. the back of the ground floor of a theatre Verb [pitting, pitted] 1. (often foll. by against)to match in opposition, esp. as antagonists: sister pitted against sister 2. to mark with small dents or scars 3. to place or bury in a pit 4. pit one's wits against to compete against in a test or contest See also pits [Old English pytt]
pit 2 Chiefly US & Canad Noun the stone of various fruits Verb [pitting, pitted] to remove the stone from (a fruit) [Dutch: kernel]
pit (pt) 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. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. |  pit - a sizeable hole (usually in the ground); "they dug a pit to bury the body"trou-de-loup - a sloping pit with a stake in the middle used as an obstacle to the enemy barbecue pit - a pit where wood or charcoal is burned to make a bed of hot coals suitable for barbecuing meat borrow pit - a pit created to provide earth that can be used as fill at another site divot - (golf) the cavity left when a piece of turf is cut from the ground by the club head in making a stroke; "it was a good drive but the ball ended up in a divot" fire pit - a pit whose floor is incandescent lava; "the fire pit of the crater" hollow, hole - a depression hollowed out of solid matter quicksand - a pit filled with loose wet sand into which objects are sucked down sandpit - a large pit in sandy ground from which sand is dug sawpit - a pit over which lumber is positioned to be sawed by two men with a long two-handed saw tar pit - a natural accumulation of bitumens at the surface of the earth; often acts as a trap for animals whose bones are thus preserved | | 2. |  pit - a concavity in a surface (especially an anatomical depression)glenoid cavity, glenoid fossa - the concavity in the head of the scapula that receives the head of the humerus to form the shoulder joint glenoid fossa, mandibular fossa - a deep concavity in the temporal bone at the root of the zygomatic arch that receives the condyle of the mandible | | 3. | pit - the hard inner (usually woody) layer of the pericarp of some fruits (as peaches or plums or cherries or olives) that contains the seed; "you should remove the stones from prunes before cooking" | | 4. |  pit - (Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment; "Hurl'd headlong...To bottomless perdition, there to dwell"- John Milton; "a demon from the depths of the pit"; "Hell is paved with good intentions"-Dr. JohnsonChristian religion, Christianity - a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior | | 5. | pit - an enclosure in which animals are made to fightenclosure - a structure consisting of an area that has been enclosed for some purpose | | 6. | pit - (commodity exchange) the part of the floor of a commodity exchange where trading in a particular commodity is carried onarea - a part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function; "the spacious cooking area provided plenty of room for servants" | | 7. | pit - (auto racing) an area at the side of a racetrack where the race cars are serviced and refueledarea - a part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function; "the spacious cooking area provided plenty of room for servants" | | 8. | pit - a trap in the form of a concealed holetrap - a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned | | 9. |  pit - a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate; "a British term for `quarry' is `stone pit'"excavation - a hole in the ground made by excavating | | 10. |  pit - lowered area in front of a stage where an orchestra accompanies the performersarea - a part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function; "the spacious cooking area provided plenty of room for servants" theater, theatre, house - a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented; "the house was full" | | 11. |  pit - a workplace consisting of a coal mine plus all the buildings and equipment connected with itmine - excavation in the earth from which ores and minerals are extracted workplace, work - a place where work is done; "he arrived at work early today" | | Verb | 1. | pit - set into opposition or rivalry; "let them match their best athletes against ours"; "pit a chess player against the Russian champion"; "He plays his two children off against each other"confront, face - oppose, as in hostility or a competition; "You must confront your opponent"; "Jackson faced Smith in the boxing ring"; "The two enemies finally confronted each other" | | 2. | pit - mark with a scar; "The skin disease scarred his face permanently"nock, score, mark - make small marks into the surface of; "score the clay before firing it" blemish, deface, disfigure - mar or spoil the appearance of; "scars defaced her cheeks"; "The vandals disfigured the statue" pockmark - mark with or as if with pockmarks; "Her face was pockmarked by the disease" cicatrise, cicatrize - form a scar, after an injury; "the skin will cicatrize and it will heal soon" | | 3. | pit - remove the pits from; "pit plums and cherries"remove, take away, withdraw, take - remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment" |
pit noun 2. hole, gulf, depression, hollow, trench, crater, trough, cavity, abyss, chasm, excavation, pothole pit something or someone against something or someone set against, oppose, match against, measure against, put in competition with, put in opposition to  Translations pit [pɪt] n → hoyo; to pit A against B → oponer A a B; pits npl ( AUT) → box msg; pitted with ( chickenpox) → picado de
 pit [pɪt] n → trou m, fosse f; ( US) (= fruit stone); noyau mvt to pit sb against sb → opposer qn à qn; to pit o.s. or one's wits against → se mesurer à;
 pit [pɪt] n → Grube f; (also: orchestra pit) → Orchestergraben m the pit of one's stomach → die Magengrube
 pit [pɪt] n → buca, fossa; vt to pit sb against sb → opporre qn a qn; to pit o.s. against → opporsi a
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digs a pit for