slit
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cut apart or open along a line; make a long cut, fissure, or opening in.
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to cut or rend into strips; split.
noun
verb
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to make a straight long incision in; split open
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to cut into strips lengthwise
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to sever
noun
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a long narrow cut
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a long narrow opening
Other Word Forms
- slitless adjective
- slitlike adjective
- slitter noun
Etymology
Origin of slit
1175–1225; Middle English slitte (noun), slitten (v.); cognate with German schlitzen to split, slit; akin to Old English slite a slit, geslit a bite, slītan to split; slice
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.
By the time Tom has tracked Robbie to his home, the dreamer’s vast horizon has narrowed to a slit.
From Salon • Oct. 6, 2025
Doctors did not expect Roy Daines to live past childhood after being born with a heart problem and a slit in his left lung.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2025
Female cicadas make long slits in twigs, laying 20 eggs in each slit, up to 600 eggs in total.
From New York Times • Jun. 2, 2024
Soft corduroy trousers fell into slit hemlines that flop over thick-soled sneakers.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 13, 2024
And Harry, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed, the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upward.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
