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. 2018

Related Words for adit

entrance, opening, tunnel, admission, passageway, entry, approach, channel

Examples from the Web for adit

Historical Examples of adit

“Push the adit right on, if we have to cut every foot of it with the drill,” he said.
The Gold Trail
Harold Bindloss
Not likely; but we can get down to the water and go along the adit.
Menhardoc
George Manville Fenn
A few minutes sufficed to bring them to the beach at the mouth of the adit.
Deep Down, a Tale of the Cornish Mines
R.M. Ballantyne
“Why there must be an adit,” cried Hardock, in a tone full of wonder.
Sappers and Miners
George Manville Fenn
Note; an adit is a horizontal shaft driven in from the cliff.
Sappers and Miners
George Manville Fenn

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).