wit

¹ American  

[wit] / wɪt /

noun

1. the keen perception and cleverly apt expression of those connections between ideas that awaken amusement and pleasure.

   Synonyms:

   drollery

2. speech or writing showing such perception and expression.

   Synonyms:

   raillery, quip, witticism, banter, bon mot, persiflage, badinage, repartee

3. a person having or noted for such perception and expression.

   Synonyms:

   satirist, jester, wag

4. understanding, intelligence, or sagacity.

   Synonyms:

   mind, sense, wisdom

5. Usually wits

   1. powers of intelligent observation, keen perception, ingenious contrivance, or the like; mental acuity, composure, and resourcefulness.

      using one's wits to get ahead.

   2. mental faculties; senses.

      to lose one's wits;

      frightened out of one's wits.

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idioms

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

wit ² American  

[wit] / wɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

present singular 1st person

wot,

2nd

wost,

3rd

wot,

present plural

wit, wite,

past and past participle

wist,

present participle

witting

1. Archaic. to know.

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idioms

1. to wit, that is to say; namely.

   It was the time of the vernal equinox, to wit, the beginning of spring.

wit ¹ British  

/ wɪt /

noun

1. the talent or quality of using unexpected associations between contrasting or disparate words or ideas to make a clever humorous effect

2. speech or writing showing this quality

3. a person possessing, showing, or noted for such an ability, esp in repartee

4. practical intelligence (esp in the phrase have the wit to )

5. dialect information or knowledge (esp in the phrase get wit of )

6. archaic mental capacity or a person possessing it

7. obsolete the mind or memory

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wit ² British  

/ wɪt /

verb

1. archaic to be or become aware of (something)

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adverb

1. that is to say; namely (used to introduce statements, as in legal documents)

wit More Idioms  

1. see at one's wit's end; have one's wits about one; live by one's wits; scare out of one's wits; to wit.

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Related Words

See humor.

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”; wot

Example Sentences

As Simon Elliott describes in his biography “The African Emperor,” Severus was a mercurial and contradictory character, capable by turns of savagery, cunning, wit and generosity, and always blessed with a sense of the theatrical.

From The Wall Street Journal

To wit, the company’s earnings guidance fell slightly short of expectations even as sales projections came in ahead.

From Barron's

At the end of each show, the judges pick two characters to face off in a battle of wits.

From Los Angeles Times

Had his wits been wandering at the end?

From Literature

Warren Buffett’s shareholder letters, known for their wit and plain English, set a new standard for corporate communication, influencing other CEOs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• fun
• joke
• satire