wit
1 Americannoun
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wits
plural
-
the keen perception and cleverly apt expression of those connections between ideas that awaken amusement and pleasure.
- Synonyms:
- drollery
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speech or writing showing such perception and expression.
-
a person having or noted for such perception and expression.
-
understanding, intelligence, or sagacity.
-
Usually wits
-
powers of intelligent observation, keen perception, ingenious contrivance, or the like; mental acuity, composure, and resourcefulness.
using one's wits to get ahead.
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mental faculties; senses.
to lose one's wits;
frightened out of one's wits.
-
idioms
-
at one's wit's end. at the end of one's ideas or mental resources; perplexed.
My two-year-old won't eat anything but pizza, and I'm at my wit's end.
-
keep / have one's wits about one, to remain alert and observant; be prepared for or equal to anything.
to keep your wits about you in a crisis.
-
live by one's wits, to provide for oneself by employing ingenuity or cunning; live precariously.
We traveled around the world, living by our wits.
verb (used with or without object)
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wot,
present (1st person singular), present (3rd person singular)
-
wost,
present (2nd person singular)
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wist,
past, past participle
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witting
present participle
idioms
noun
-
the talent or quality of using unexpected associations between contrasting or disparate words or ideas to make a clever humorous effect
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speech or writing showing this quality
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a person possessing, showing, or noted for such an ability, esp in repartee
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practical intelligence (esp in the phrase have the wit to )
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dialect information or knowledge (esp in the phrase get wit of )
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archaic mental capacity or a person possessing it
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obsolete the mind or memory
verb
adverb
Synonym Usage
See humor.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wotsimple
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wostsimple
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have wistperfect
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has wistperfect
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am wittingprogressive
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are wittingprogressive
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is wittingprogressive
-
have been wittingperfect progressive
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has been wittingperfect progressive
Past
-
wistsimple
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had wistperfect
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was wittingprogressive
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were wittingprogressive
-
had been wittingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wit1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English: “mind, thought”; cognate with German Witz, Old Norse vit; akin to wit 2
Origin of wit2
First recorded before 900; Middle English witen, Old English witan; cognate with Dutch weten, German wissen, Old Norse vita, Gothic witan to know; akin to Latin vidēre “to see,” Greek oîda (dialect woîda “I know,” and ideîn (dialect wideîn ) “to see,” Sanskrit vidati “(he) knows”; see wot
Explanation
Wit is brainpower or mental ability, or the person who possesses such ability, especially when it's used humorously. When we are scared out of our wits, we — figuratively, anyway — lose for a moment our mental faculties. When we are at our wits' end, we have run out of ideas or possible solutions to a frustrating situation. When we outwit someone, we make the smarter decision. Historical figures known for their wit include Voltaire, Oscar Wilde, and Mark Twain.
Vocabulary lists containing wit
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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Nothing But the Truth
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Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Kyle Hermann, a 29-year-old teacher from California, praised Rubio's "charm and his wit" and said he hoped both men could emerge from any primary battle without damaging each other.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Huggins described Norman as a humble man who lived to 107 and said his humour, wit, wisdom and anecdotes about living a long life would be greatly missed.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Basing herself in New York in 1960, she quickly became known for her stylish prose, sharp wit, and striking appearance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
“I doubt whether even Pope himself could be so convincingly Pope-like aged 13,” he writes, in a comment typical of his generous wit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Angela had a quick, wacky wit and made a game of making us laugh.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Huang referenced an ancient Chinese myth where three ordinary people combine their wits to equal one genius.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
One of the most famous episodes in Homer’s poem finds Odysseus and his men facing the Cyclops Polyphemus in his cave, where their struggle becomes a battle of wits: lies, taunts, a drunken ruse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
The trip taught him how to rely on his musical talents and his wits to survive on the road.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
I am reasonably educated, and at 64, I still have most of my wits.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 12, 2026
Laurie and she were always making signs to one another, and talking about ‘Spread Eagles’ till the girls declared they had both lost their wits.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
And the qey wot adds sparks of raw jalapeño and tomato to chopped lamb.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2021
Let’s talk a little bit about wot the violence interrupters are.
From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2021
“Wot you ’ave to know about chimney flues,” he was declaring, “is that flues ’as several twists in ’em, cuz they’s attached to uvver flues wot shares one openin’.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2018
That doro wot, a resonant chicken stew flavored with berbere, cloves and goosefoot herb, is among the great chicken dishes of the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2018
“From wot I hear, he was out there, diggen the house foundation, an’ pullen up stones.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
The Utes surrender an average of 76 points per game, which is the wost in the conference.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2011
But this week the wost was yet to come.
From Time Magazine Archive
Lord God Almythti, thou it wost, Fadir sone and holi gost, To thee i menene my mone; For my spouse that was so trewe, Fadir hende brith of newe, Wol wo is me alone.
From Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 91, July 26, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by Various
Tell me the wost, stranger; I kin stand it; but I sure hate to fetch the news hum to her.”
From Phil Bradley's Snow-shoe Trail The Mountain Boys in the Canada Wilds by Silas K. Boone
Assay! assay! thou simple-hearted ghost; What grace is shapen thee, thou not wost.
From Henry of Monmouth, Volume 1 Memoirs of Henry the Fifth by James Endell Tyler
We Are Young, too, is wistful for an era that was already full of wist.
From The Guardian ● May 29, 2013
His wife was a wistful little body who seemed likely to have plenty to wist over before her children were raised on the living that a game-keeper would wring from the soil.
From Neighbours by Robert J. C. Stead
But as we read, "He wist not what to say, for they were sore afraid."
From "Granny's Chapters" (on scriptural subjects) by Lady Mary Ross
The priest wist not what to say, but answered, "What shall I do with this fool?" and the man said, "What shall I do with this fool?"
From Amusing Prose Chap Books by Various
The trusty Eckart felt it, But wist not of the cause; His heart the music melted, He wondered what it was.
From Tales From the 'Phantasus', etc. of Ludwig Tieck by Ludwig Tieck
An agent is a paid and witting spy; he formally, sometimes covertly, works for a foreign government.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2025
“I can’t but think of partial replacements as immoral because they involve a witting decision by government agencies to leave residents at continued risk of exposure,” said Lambrinidou.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 8, 2023
An intelligence organization — whether it is Russian, Iranian or American — looks at potential agent candidates, who can be witting or unwitting, with three key factors in mind: access, vulnerabilities and motivation.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 26, 2020
A witting asset is a person or entity who knows that there is a foreign power working in their interest.
From Salon ● May 22, 2019
Thus Faustus, to so many a snare of death, had now, neither willing nor witting it, begun to loosen that wherein I was taken.
From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 09 — Lives and Letters by Arthur Mee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
