quit

1
[ kwit ]
See synonyms for quit on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),quit or quit·ted, quit·ting.
  1. to stop, cease, or discontinue: She quit what she was doing to help me paint the house.

  2. to depart from; leave (a place or person): They quit the city for the seashore every summer.

  1. to give up or resign; let go; relinquish: He quit his claim to the throne.She quit her job.

  2. to release one's hold of (something grasped).

  3. to acquit or conduct (oneself).

  4. to free or rid (oneself): to quit oneself of doubts.

  5. to clear (a debt); repay.

verb (used without object),quit or quit·ted, quit·ting.
  1. to cease from doing something; stop.

  2. to give up or resign one's job or position: He keeps threatening to quit.

  1. to depart or leave.

  2. to stop trying, struggling, or the like; accept or acknowledge defeat.

adjective
  1. released from obligation, penalty, etc.; free, clear, or rid (usually followed by of): quit of all further responsibilities.

Origin of quit

1
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English verb qui(t)ten “to pay, acquit oneself,” from Old French quit(t)er, from Medieval Latin quittāre, quiētāre “to release, discharge,” Late Latin quiētare “to put to rest, quiet;” see also quite

Other words for quit

Opposites for quit

Other words from quit

  • quit·ta·ble, adjective
  • un·quit·ted, adjective

Words that may be confused with quit

Other definitions for quit (2 of 2)

quit2
[ kwit ]

noun
  1. any of various small tropical birds.

Origin of quit

2
First recorded in 1845–50; originally Jamaican English, of uncertain origin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use quit in a sentence

  • An act done by a wrongdoer, not under the lessor's order, will not justify the lessee in quitting.

  • Maybe Marie would wish then that she had thought twice about quitting him just on her mother's say-so.

    Cabin Fever | B. M. Bower
  • "I have not the least intention of quitting you," was the rather indignant reply of the young fellow.

    Overland | John William De Forest
  • Before quitting the yard, though, I fell in with another acquaintance.

  • Understand me, I'm not thinking of quitting; I merely want to look over the battlefield first.

    The White Desert | Courtney Ryley Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for quit

quit

/ (kwɪt) /


verbquits or quitting or quitted or mainly US quit
  1. (tr) to depart from; leave: he quitted the place hastily

  2. to resign; give up (a job): he quitted his job today

  1. (intr) (of a tenant) to give up occupancy of premises and leave them: they received notice to quit

  2. to desist or cease from (something or doing something); break off: quit laughing

  3. (tr) to pay off (a debt); discharge or settle

  4. (tr) archaic to conduct or acquit (oneself); comport (oneself): he quits himself with great dignity

adjective
  1. (usually predicative foll by of) free (from); released (from): he was quit of all responsibility for their safety

Origin of quit

1
C13: from Old French quitter, from Latin quiētus quiet; see quietus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with quit

quit

In addition to the idiom beginning with quit

  • quite a bit
  • quit while one's ahead

also see:

  • call it quits

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.