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  • brit
    brit
    noun
    the group of small marine animals forming the food of baleen whales.
  • Brit
    Brit
    noun
    a native or inhabitant of Great Britain, especially of England; Briton.
  • Brit.
    Brit.
    abbreviation
    Britain.

brit

1 American  
[brit] / brɪt /
Or britt

noun

  1. the group of small marine animals forming the food of baleen whales.

  2. the young of herring and sprat.


Brit 2 American  
[brit] / brɪt /

noun

  1. a native or inhabitant of Great Britain, especially of England; Briton.

    He married a Brit.

  2. Disparaging. a member of the British army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.


adjective

  1. of or relating to Great Britain or its inhabitants; British.

    The syllabus for the course in Brit Lit was none too inspiring.

Brit. 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. Britain.

  2. British.


Brit 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. Britain

  2. British

"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

brit 2 British  
/ brɪt /

noun

  1. the young of a herring, sprat, or similar fish

  2. minute marine crustaceans, esp copepods, forming food for many fishes and whales

"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

Brit 3 British  
/ brɪt /

noun

  1. informal a British person

"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

Etymology

Origin of brit1

First recorded in 1595–1605; perhaps from Cornish brȳthel “mackerel”; akin to Old Cornish brȳth, Welsh brith “speckled”

Origin of Brit2

First recorded in 1900–05; by shortening

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 was trained in the Jewish religious practice of brit milah — a profession generally spelled “mohel” in English and pronounced “moil.”

From New York Times Aug. 15, 2023

“With brit milahs, they’re having the family they want, and if I’m doing the abortions, I’m just fulfilling the wish of women to have the lives they want.”

From Washington Post Aug. 6, 2019

Same goes for when a mother asks her to officiate a brit milah — a less controversial procedure, though a small but growing number of Jews are questioning the tradition’s merits.

From Washington Post Aug. 6, 2019

Turquoise's 53 Summer Street is a surreal location for psychedelic-era enlightenment in a track that BeltwayBandit describes as "really scrumptious 60s brit psychedelic whimsy, sort of Kinksesque but quite unique".

From The Guardian May 24, 2012

Brit Steering north-eastward from the Crozetts, we fell in with vast meadows of brit, the minute, yellow substance, upon which the Right Whale largely feeds.

From Moby Dick: or, the White Whale by Melville, Herman

The Brit has stared down near-certain elimination in multiple matches, repeatedly breaking his opponents’ momentum with Houdini-like on-court acts.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 9, 2026

It's a fitting celebration in a year that's seen Wolf Alice score their second number one album and win best British group at the Brit Awards.

From BBC Jul. 6, 2026

One Brit went viral for trying Chick-fil-A for the first time: “That was absolutely banging,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 28, 2026

By 1999, King had been awarded an MBE for services to music as the Mobos grew from scrappy underdog to music industry fixture, holding its own against the long-established Brit Awards.

From BBC Jun. 5, 2026

He got interested in Britney Harron—“me and Brit were talking,” as he puts it—but didn’t move quickly enough, and she ended up with a long-term boyfriend.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

"I still struggle to call myself a black Brit. I grew up here all my life and I have strong ties here, but I'm also Nigerian" says Afolabi.

From BBC Sep. 23, 2022

"I had a little bit of nerves - I was a big favourite against a young Brit. I'm excited to see how he's going to do in the future," Norrie told Amazon Prime.

From BBC Mar. 25, 2022

Encore has polished acting, direction and writing by three different sets of Brit. ish film talents.

From Time Magazine Archive

“But, listen, Brit. When they pick up this Erlone fellow, he’s going to tell the cops and the papers’ll have the story anyway. So call ’em now.

From "Native Son" by Richard Wright

Gough, in his edition of Camden's Brit. ii.

From Industrial Biography, Iron Workers and Tool Makers by Smiles, Samuel

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