noun
-
Technical name: axilla. the small depression beneath the arm where it joins the shoulder
-
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:
More surgical options have emerged too, such as smaller incisions in the chest, or a robotic surgery that involves a smaller incision on a person’s side near the armpit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
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
Symptoms include lumps in chest, breast or armpit, changes in the shape of breast, redness, rashes or texture changes and any pain that does not go away.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025
“It really changed the notion that we were the armpit of the region.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2025
When I do, he sneak attacks me, jamming his fingers under my armpit and wiggling them.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
I felt my armpits dampen when my boss called me into his office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
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
Undeterred, he sends his proteges out to meet women, spraying their armpits with deodorant, declaring: "It's showtime!"
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025
My face flushed red and I started sweating, damp spots emerging under my armpits and on my chest.
From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2025
Wearing starched blouses, armpits stained with sweat, they cluster in tight groups of two or three along the length of the pool.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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.
