ambit

[ am-bit ]

/ ˈæm bɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ambit ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

circumference; circuit.

boundary; limit.

a sphere of operation or influence; range; scope: the ambit of such an action.

Nearby words

ambisextrous, ambisexual, ambisinister, ambisonics, ambisyllabic, ambit, ambitendency, ambition, ambitious, ambitiously, ambivalence

Origin of ambit

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin ambitus a going around, equivalent to amb- ambi- + itus a going (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 ambit

They have come within the ambit of law enforcement by violating some law: drunk driving for example.
Fight Gangs by Enforcing Immigration|David Frum|July 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
This approach easily sweeps Assange and WikiLeaks into its ambit.
The Espionage Case Against Assange|Stephen L. Carter|December 1, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Whether they are in the ambit covered by Madoff's alleged help to the SEC is not publicly known.
Ruth's Secret Stash|Allan Dodds Frank|March 15, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Is there jurisdiction in the Courts to review in such a context as this taking into account the ambit of ss.
Judgments of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand on Proceedings to Review Aspects of the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Mount Erebus Aircraft Disaster|Sir Owen Woodhouse, R. B. Cooke, Ivor L. M. Richardson, Duncan Wallace McMullin, and Sir Edward Somers

The correctional courts mentioned deal with the graver offences which are outside the ambit of the juge de paix.
France|Gordon Cochrane Home
The whole surface of my ambit was spread out like a miniature map in my eye, and continues to be.
Confessions of Boyhood|John Albee
I saw for the first time an horizon as an arc suggesting how wide is our ambit.
The Sea and the Jungle|H. M. Tomlinson
But he determined the key to the solution lay within that ambit.
If Winter Comes|A.S.M. Hutchinson

British Dictionary definitions for ambit

ambit

/ (ˈæmbɪt) /

noun

scope or extent

limits, boundary, or circumference

Word Origin for ambit

C16: from Latin ambitus a going round, from ambīre to go round, from ambi- + 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 ambit

ambit

late 14c., "space surrounding a building or town; precinct;" 1590s, "a circuit," from Latin ambitus "a going round," past participle of ambire "to go round, to go about" (see ambient).

ambit

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of ambit

Examples from the Web for ambit

British Dictionary definitions for ambit

ambit

noun

Word Origin for ambit

Word Origin and History for ambit

ambit