noun
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Technical name: axilla. the small depression beneath the arm where it joins the shoulder
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slang an extremely unpleasant place
the armpit of the Mediterranean
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of armpit
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; arm 1 + pit 1 ( def. )
Explanation
Your armpit is the area underneath your upper arm, where it connects to your shoulder. Armpits tend to be smelly, so we would advise to steer clear of an open armpit on a bus or subway. Another common word for armpit is "underarm," while the official anatomical term is axilla. Perhaps because your armpits tend to get sweaty and a little smelly after you exercise, the word armpit is sometimes used as a derogatory term for an unattractive place: "That city is so ugly it's the armpit of New Jersey." Before armpit, the axilla was known as an arm-hole.
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.
See Examples For:
“He lived in Bakersfield, which is the armpit of California,” Hankel says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
Eve Ross, who is a nursery worker in Kent, went to her doctor after she discovered a small lump in her armpit in January 2024.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025
When Gustave Flaubert saw Antonio Canova’s sculpture “Eros and Psyche” in 1845, he surreptitiously kissed Psyche’s marble armpit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
Mr Dalton explained that he held the golf club under his armpit and used his body to swing.
From BBC ● May 31, 2025
I sniff my armpit to hide my face.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
You’re either stuck to a vinyl-clad seat or grabbing up for a handrail and trying to direct your face away from the armpits to your left and right.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Following her lead, I tuck my arms over my chest, hands in armpits, and we move briskly into the water together.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
And what most people remember about their performance is that Paula Cole didn’t shave her armpits, resulting in months of fodder for late-night comedians.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2025
A well-known deodorant brand has apologised after some of its roll-on products reportedly left customers with itchy, burning armpits.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2025
His armpits were sweating, and parts of his shirt stuck to his shoulder and stomach.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
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.
