pit

¹ American  

[pit] / pɪt /

noun

1. a naturally formed or excavated hole or cavity in the ground.

   pits caused by erosion;

   clay pits.

2. a covered or concealed excavation in the ground, serving as a trap.

3. Mining.

   1. an excavation made in exploring for or removing a mineral deposit, as by open-cut methods.

   2. the shaft of a coal mine.

   3. the mine itself.

4. the abode of evil spirits and lost souls; hell.

   an evil inspiration from the pit.

5. Slang. the pits, an extremely unpleasant, boring, or depressing place, condition, person, etc.; the absolute worst.

   When you're alone, Christmas is the pits.

6. a hollow or indentation in a surface.

   glass flawed by pits.

7. a natural hollow or depression in the body.

   the pit of the back.

8. Informal. pits, the armpits.

   up to my pits in work.

9. a small, depressed scar, as one of those left on the skin after smallpox or chicken pox.

10. an enclosure, usually below the level of the spectators, as for staging fights between dogs, cocks, or, formerly, bears.

11. (in a commodity exchange) a part of the floor of the exchange where trading in a particular commodity takes place.

    the corn pit.

12. Architecture.

    1. all that part of the main floor of a theater behind the musicians.

    2. British. the main floor of a theater behind the stalls.

    3. orchestra.

13. (in a hoistway) a space below the level of the lowest floor served.

14. Auto Racing. an area at the side of a track, for servicing and refueling the cars.

15. Bowling. the sunken area of a bowling alley behind the pins, for the placement or recovery of pins that have been knocked down.

16. Track. the area forward of the takeoff point in a jumping event, as the broad jump or pole vault, that is filled with sawdust or soft earth to lessen the force of the jumper's landing.

17. the area or room of a casino containing gambling tables.

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verb (used with object)

pitted, pitting

1. to mark or indent with pits or depressions.

   ground pitted by erosion.

2. to scar with pockmarks.

   His forehead was pitted by chickenpox.

3. to place or bury in a pit, as for storage.

4. to set in opposition or combat, as one against another.

   Synonyms:

   oppose, match

5. to put (animals) in a pit or enclosure for fighting.

verb (used without object)

pitted, pitting

1. to become marked with pits or depressions.

2. (of body tissue) to retain temporarily a mark of pressure, as by a finger, instrument, etc.

pit ² American  

[pit] / pɪt /

noun

1. the stone of a fruit, as of a cherry, peach, or plum.

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verb (used with object)

pitted, pitting

1. to remove the pit from (a fruit or fruits).

   to pit cherries for a pie.

pit ¹ British  

/ pɪt /

noun

1. the stone of a cherry, plum, etc

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verb

1. (tr) to extract the stone from (a fruit)

pit ² British  

/ pɪt /

noun

1. a large, usually deep opening in the ground

2. 1. a mine or excavation with a shaft, esp for coal

   2. the shaft in a mine

   3. ( as modifier )

      pit pony

      pit prop

3. a concealed danger or difficulty

4. hell

5. Also called: orchestra pit.  the area that is occupied by the orchestra in a theatre, located in front of the stage

6. an enclosure for fighting animals or birds, esp gamecocks

7. anatomy

   1. a small natural depression on the surface of a body, organ, structure, or part; fossa

   2. the floor of any natural bodily cavity

      the pit of the stomach

8. pathol a small indented scar at the site of a former pustule; pockmark

9. any of various small areas in a plant cell wall that remain unthickened when the rest of the cell becomes lignified, esp the vascular tissue

10. a working area at the side of a motor-racing track for servicing or refuelling vehicles

11. a section on the floor of a commodity exchange devoted to a special line of trading

12. a rowdy card game in which players bid for commodities

13. an area of sand or other soft material at the end of a long-jump approach, behind the bar of a pole vault, etc, on which an athlete may land safely

14. the ground floor of the auditorium of a theatre

15. a slang word for bed bedroom

16. another word for pitfall

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verb

1. to match in opposition, esp as antagonists

2. to mark or become marked with pits

3. (tr) to place or bury in a pit

pit ³ British  

/ pɪt /

verb

1. a Scot word for put

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pit Scientific  

/ pĭt /

1. 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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pit Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing pit

• the pits

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Etymology

Origin of pit¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun pit, pit(t)e, put(e), putte, Old English pytt “pit, grave,” from Latin puteus “well, pit, shaft”; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of pit²

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45, from Dutch, Middle Dutch pitte, pit “kernel”; cognate with pith

Explanation

A pit is a hole in the ground, like the one in Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” that the narrator tries not to fall into. A pit can also be smaller indentation. There’s also a pit hiding inside a peach. Pit is a word with a wide variety of meanings. There's the pit you dig on the beach as a moat for your sandcastle, and the pit a hunter digs for trapping an animal. Then there's the sunken area of a performance hall where musicians play, an orchestra pit, and the area that's reserved for certain activity, like the trading pit at a stock exchange. Finally, a pit is also a large, hard seed — like a peach pit.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pit pitted pitting

But on Sept. 17, Trevino was using the fire pit on his apartment balcony when it exploded as he was refilling it, according to the complaint.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Adding a fire pit or an outdoor kitchen adds to a home’s value, Zillow data show.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

It’s felt between the actors on stage and from the orchestra pit to the last row of balcony seats.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

One served as a "staging path" -- a kind of pit stop to route the agent's activity and cover its tracks -- and another as a place to store data.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

They could imagine a virtual fire pit at any random point.

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

But “Secret Wars” gets its name from a couple of Marvel comic book storylines that involve various heroes being pitted against each other.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Throughout his career, Neill pitted himself against creatures both real and imagined — or, even more often, somewhere in-between — to reveal humanity’s foibles in the face of the freakish and fantastic.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

The June 7 runoff pitted the 51-year-old daughter of Alberto Fujimori against Sanchez, 57, the political heir of former president Pedro Castillo.

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

Russell pitted to change tyres under the safety car but in the confusion, failed to serve the penalty.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

As a member of the union, I had no choice: I was suddenly, and for the first time in my life, out of a job, out of a paycheck, and pitted against my employers.

From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom

What he finds is a conflict pitting human progress, and its attenuating battle for power and domination, against nature.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

The race to build the dominant AI video model has created a fierce rivalry, pitting U.S. companies against the fast-closing Chinese competitors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026

Some have interpreted that as a snub to the forum, while others see it as China avoiding publicly pitting itself against the US, as the two rival powers jostle for influence in the region.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

Deliberations begin Monday in the blockbuster trial pitting Elon Musk against AI giant OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, whom Musk accuses of abandoning the company's founding mission.

From Barron's ● May 18, 2026

After the beast fights came a mock battle, pitting six men on foot against six horsemen, the former armed with shields and longswords, the latter with Dothraki arakhs.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Related Words

• abyss
• crater
• mine
• shaft
• tomb
• trench