pit
piht
Pit (noun) means a hole or hollow in the ground. Example: “The children jumped over the muddy pit behind the old barn.”
noun
1
A hole or hollow in the ground.
"The children jumped over the muddy pit behind the old barn."
"A deep pit had formed in the road after the heavy rain."
"Workers dug a pit to lay the new foundation."
2
The hard stone found inside certain fruits, such as peaches or cherries.
"He spat the cherry pit into his hand and looked for a bin."
"An avocado has one large pit in the middle."
"Be careful not to bite down on the pit."
verb
1
To set two things or people in direct competition or opposition.
"The quiz show pits students from rival schools against one another."
"The final will pit the reigning champion against a young challenger."
"The tournament pits the top two teams against each other."
2
To remove the stone from a fruit.
"Pit the olives first, then slice them thinly for the salad."
"It takes ages to pit a whole bowl of plums by hand."
"She pitted the cherries before baking the pie."
How to use pit
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA hole in the ground, the stone inside a fruit, or (as a verb) to pit people/teams against each other, or remove a fruit's stone.
Common pairings
pit someone against
dig a pit
pit a cherry
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Word forms
- Plural
- pits
- Third person singular
- pits
- Past tense
- pitted
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The children jumped over the muddy _____ behind the old barn.
Etymology
From Old English pytt, from Proto-West Germanic *puti, ultimately from Latin puteus ("trench, pit, well").
Synonyms
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Rhymes for pit
See all rhymes for pit →Frequently asked questions
What does “pit” mean?
The word “pit” means a hole or hollow in the ground. In plain terms, a hole in the ground, the stone inside a fruit, or (as a verb) to pit people/teams against each other, or remove a fruit's stone.
How do you pronounce “pit”?
“Pit” is pronounced piht (/pɪt/ in IPA).
How do you use “pit” in a sentence?
Here is “pit” used in a sentence: “Workers dug a pit to lay the new foundation.”
What part of speech is “pit”?
Depending on how it is used, “pit” can be a noun and a verb.
Where does the word “pit” come from?
The word “pit” comes from Latin. From Old English pytt, from Proto-West Germanic *puti, ultimately from Latin puteus ("trench, pit, well").
Is “pit” a common word?
“Pit” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.
How many meanings does “pit” have?
“Pit” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a hole or hollow in the ground.
What is the difference between a pit and a hole?
A pit is a hole or hollow in the ground, often deeper or more pronounced than a shallow hole. Pit specifically emphasises a hollow depression in the ground, whereas hole is a more general term for any opening or gap.
Is the pit of a peach the same as a seed?
The pit is the hard stone found inside certain fruits, such as peaches or cherries, and the actual seed sits inside that stone. In everyday speech people often call the whole hard centre the pit.
How can pit mean both a hole and part of a fruit?
Pit has two distinct noun senses. One is a hole or hollow in the ground, and the other is the hard stone inside fruits like peaches or cherries. Context makes clear which meaning is intended.
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