crit

¹ American  

[krit] / krɪt /

noun

1. a critic.

   This is a sharply edited anthology by the very best of American film crits.

2. criticism.

   Her library includes many works of English lit crit, with about 60 volumes on Jane Austen alone.

3. critique.

   I read the poem at my writing crit group and got some helpful feedback.

4. (in role-playing games) a critical hit.

   A crit against a shield makes the shield useless.

   You only get one chance to roll a crit.

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adjective

1. critical.

   She’s a full-time nurse working in crit care.

verb (used with object)

crit, critted, critting

1. (in role-playing games) to achieve a critical hit against (an opponent).

   Those big wyverns keep critting me—my health is down to zero again!

2. to critique or criticize.

   I could crit you for the same things you crit me for.

verb (used without object)

crit, critted, critting

1. (in role-playing games) to achieve a critical hit.

   It seemed like the dude crit on every single turn, so he won easily.

crit ² American  

[krit] / krɪt /

noun

Cycling Informal.

1. a variant of criterium.

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crit. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. critic.

2. critical.

3. criticism.

4. criticized.

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crit. British  

abbreviation

1. critic

2. criticism

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Usage

What else does crit mean? Crit is gaming slang for a "critical hit," which is a blow that does a great amount of damage to an opponent. Crit is also bicycle slang for "criterium," a closed-circuit bicycle race.

Etymology

Origin of crit¹

First recorded in 1735–45; by shortening

Origin of crit²

First recorded in 1995–2000; shortening of criterium ( def. )

Example Sentences

Imposing this crit on public agencies, rather than the private developers, makes even less sense, since they are already accountable for their decisions.

From Slate • Oct. 28, 2022

This is not just my lit crit interpretation.

From The Guardian • May 7, 2018

Here are some things to expect the next time you attend a four-hour art-school crit: Unrestrained use of words like “ontological.”

From The New Yorker • Mar. 5, 2017

I once scrawled “memoir and crit candybar” in the margin of “Bluets.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2016

And commenter Christopher Lord, a native Oregonian from Astoria who is a local author as well, rose to the challenge with this bit of introspective lit crit:

From Washington Times • Apr. 6, 2015