pit

English

/ˈpɪt/

noun
Definitions
  • A hole in the ground.
  • (motor racing) An area at a 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.
  • The bottom part of something.
  • (colloquial) Armpit.
  • (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.
  • (gambling) Part of a casino which typically holds tables for blackjack, craps, roulette, and other games.
  • (slang) A pit bull terrier.
  • (in the plural) .
  • (slang) A mosh pit.
  • (law enforcement) A maneuver by which a police officer, by use of a police car, nudges the vehicle of a fleeing suspect enough for the suspect's vehicle to lose control and become disabled so the police officer can catch and apprehend the suspect.
  • The fissile core of a nuclear weapon, commonly made of plutonium surrounded by high-explosive lenses.
  • (hospital slang) The emergency department.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English pit inherited from Old English pytt inherited from *puti derived from Latin puteus (well, pit, trench, dungeon).

Origin

Latin

puteus

Gloss

well, pit, trench, dungeon

Concept
Semantic Field

The physical world

Ontological Category

Person/Thing

Kanji

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms