adit

[ad-it]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR adit ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an entrance or a passage.

Also called entry. Mining. a nearly horizontal passage leading into a mine.

an approach or access.

Origin of adit

1595–1605; < Latin aditus an approach, equivalent to ad- ad- + -i- (stem of īre to go) + -tus suffix of v. action

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for adit

We have cut the south lode at the adit level about 50 or 60 fathoms east of the engine, and have driven about 20 fathoms on it.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
They went with him to the mouth of the adit and saw the shack outlined against a dazzling blaze.
The Gold Trail|Harold Bindloss
It is also cheaper to drive an adit than to sink an incline.
The Business of Mining|Arthur J. Hoskin
At nights their hands and backs were distressfully sore, but the adit they drove crept on steadily along the dip of the lode.
The Gold Trail|Harold Bindloss

The adit of a military mine, is the aperture by which it is dug and charged: the name is also applied to an air-hole or drift.
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for adit

adit

noun

an almost horizontal shaft into a mine, for access or drainage

Word Origin for adit

C17: from Latin aditus an approach, from adīre, from ad- towards + īre to go

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

Word Origin and History for adit

"entrance," c.1600, from Latin aditus "approach, entrance, a going to or drawing near," from past participle stem of adire "to approach," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + ire "to go," from PIE root *ei- "to go" (see ion).

adit

noun

RELATED WORDS

Origin of adit

Examples from the Web for adit

adit

noun

Word Origin for adit