Jump To:

• fit
  fit

  adjective

  adapted or suited; appropriate.
• FIT
  FIT

  Federal Insurance Tax.

fit

¹ American  

[fit] / fɪt /

adjective

• fitter,
  comparative
• fittest
  superlative

1. adapted or suited; appropriate.

   This water isn't fit for drinking.

   A long-necked giraffe is fit for browsing treetops.

   Synonyms:

   apropos, applicable, meet, proper, apt, suitable

2. proper or becoming.

   This is not fit behavior for a funeral service.

   Synonyms:

   befitting, fitting

3. qualified or competent, as for an office or function.

   It took several interviews to find a fit candidate for the position.

4. prepared or ready.

   Constant updating of methods and equipment will ensure that we're fit for the future.

5. in good physical condition; in good health.

   He's fit for the race.

   Synonyms:

   robust, strong, hardy, hale, healthy

6. Biology.

   1. being adapted to the prevailing conditions and producing offspring that survive to reproductive age.

   2. contributing genetic information to the gene pool of the next generation.

   3. (of a population) maintaining or increasing the group's numbers in the environment.

---

verb (used with object)

fitted, fit, fitting

1. to be adapted to or suitable for (a purpose, object, occasion, etc.).

2. to be proper or becoming for.

3. to be of the right size or shape for.

   The dress fitted her perfectly.

4. to adjust or make conform.

   She had the jeweler fit the ring to her finger.

5. to make qualified or competent.

   Courage and patience are among the qualities that fit a person for leadership.

6. to prepare.

   This school fits students for college.

7. to put with precise placement or adjustment.

   He fitted the picture into the frame.

8. to provide; furnish; equip.

   I fitted the cabinet door with a new handle.

9. Statistics. to predict, calculate, or project (values) according to a model based on existing data.

verb (used without object)

fitted, fit, fitting

1. to be suitable or proper.

2. to be of the right size or shape, as a garment for the wearer or any object or part for a thing to which it is applied.

   The shoes fit.

noun

1. the manner in which a thing fits.

   The fit was perfect.

2. something that fits.

   The coat is a poor fit.

3. the process of fitting.

verb phrase

1. fit out / up to furnish with supplies, equipment, clothing, furniture, or other requisites; supply; equip.

   In Kathmandu they found a supplier to fit out the trekking expedition.

idioms

1. fit the bill. bill.

2. fit to kill, to the limit; exceedingly.

   She was dressed up fit to kill.

3. fit to be tied, extremely annoyed or angry.

   He was fit to be tied when I told him I'd wrecked the car.

fit ² American  

[fit] / fɪt /

noun

1. a sudden, acute attack or manifestation of a disease, especially one marked by convulsions or unconsciousness.

   a fit of epilepsy.

2. an onset, spell, or period of emotion, feeling, inclination, activity, etc..

   a fit of anger;

   a fit of weeping.

---

idioms

1. by / in fits and starts, at irregular intervals; intermittently.

   This radio works by fits and starts.

2. throw a fit, to become extremely excited or angry.

   Your father will throw a fit when he hears what you have done.

fit ³ American  

[fit] / fɪt /

noun

Archaic.

1. a song, ballad, or story.

2. a division of a song, ballad, or story.

---

fit ⁴ American  

[fit] / fɪt /

verb

Nonstandard (chiefly Older Use).

1. simple past tense of fight.

---

FIT ⁵ American  

1. Banking. Federal Insurance Tax.

---

fit ¹ British  

/ fɪt /

verb

1. to be appropriate or suitable for (a situation, etc)

2. to be of the correct size or shape for (a connection, container, etc)

3. (tr) to adjust in order to render appropriate

   they had to fit the idea to their philosophy

4. (tr) to supply with that which is needed

5. (tr) to try clothes on (someone) in order to make adjustments if necessary

6. (tr) to make competent or ready

   the experience helped to fit him for the task

7. (tr) to locate with care

8. (intr) to correspond with the facts or circumstances

---

adjective

1. suitable to a purpose or design; appropriate

2. having the right qualifications; qualifying

3. in good health

4. worthy or deserving

   a book fit to be read

5. (foll by an infinitive) in such an extreme condition that a specified consequence is likely

   she was fit to scream

   you look fit to drop

6. informal (of a person) sexually attractive

noun

1. the manner in which something fits

2. the act or process of fitting

3. statistics the correspondence between observed and predicted characteristics of a distribution or model See goodness of fit

fit ² British  

/ fɪt /

noun

1. pathol a sudden attack or convulsion, such as an epileptic seizure

2. a sudden spell of emotion

   a fit of anger

3. an impulsive period of activity or lack of activity; mood

   a fit of laziness

4. to surprise a person in an outrageous manner

5. informal to become very angry or excited

6. in spasmodic spells; irregularly

---

verb

1. informal (intr) to have a sudden attack or convulsion, such as an epileptic seizure

fit ³ British  

/ fɪt /

noun

1. archaic a story or song or a section of a story or song

---

fit More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing fit

• give someone fits
• have a fit
• if the shoe fits
• see fit to
• survival of the fittest

---

Usage

Both fit and fitted are standard as past tense and past participle of fit1 : The new door fit (or fitted ) the old frame perfectly. The suit had fitted (or fit ) well last year. Fitted is somewhat more common than fit in the sense “to adjust, make conform”: The tailor fitted the suit with a minimum of fuss. In the passive voice, fitted is the more common past participle: The door was fitted with a new handle.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• fittable
  adjective
• unfittable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• fitter
  comparative
• fittest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of fit¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English fitten, fetten “to marshal or deploy troops; to be fitting, befit;” possibly from Old Norse fitja “to web, knit;” akin to Middle Dutch vitten “to befit”

Origin of fit²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English fitt “round of fighting”; see fit ³

Origin of fit³

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English fitt “round of singing, canto, song, speech”

Origin of fit⁴

First recorded in 1805–10

Explanation

"Don't have a fit about it!" someone might snap at you. Chances are you're making a fuss and acting out, characteristics that precisely fit or match what having a fit involves. Chill out. When something fits like a glove, it fits just right. When you put a glove on, you fit each finger into its place. The word fit can mean "matching the shape of something" or "being a good match," like two people who meet online and turn out to be a good fit for one another. But its definitions are not always so rosy. If you're really angry and find yourself throwing a tantrum, you're having a fit.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fit FIT fitter fittest fitted fitting

Jolin doesn’t fit the typical profile of a deep-pocketed college booster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Since then, many organisations have been clawing workers back into the office, despite evidence that hybrid working may be the best fit.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

He’s fit right in, making a now Shohei Ohtani-less projected postseason rotation still the most daunting the sport has seen in decades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Then, pick activities that fit within that parameter.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

He stood up on the limb and started jumping up and down, and laughing fit to kill.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

A spokeswoman for FIT said the university is continuing to investigate references to the school.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

Those eligible for screening who are registered with a GP get a home FIT kit through the post every two years.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026

The study aimed to measure how many participants would complete a colorectal cancer screening within six months and how many would undergo a colonoscopy within six months following a positive FIT result.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024

Earlier this year, the Museum at FIT celebrated hip-hop fashion with an exhibition titled "Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style."

From Reuters ● Sep. 5, 2023

If our symbols FIT the world, in the sense of determining our expectations rightly, they may even be the better for not copying its terms.

From Meaning of Truth by William James

The people included in the study may have been healthier and fitter than the general population.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

"But he and other key players like Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland are all flying and couldn't look fitter."

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

While Knight played a series of sweeps and reverses, Capsey, who looks fitter and more composed in 2026, targeted the straight boundaries with power.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026

Trump often boasts about his health, saying that he is far fitter than previous presidents despite his weight and a love of fast food.

From Barron's ● May 26, 2026

One day she relented, and we set forth from the castle in a fitter enclosed by curtains and borne by servants.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

The movie projects contempt for the dense from its first frame, sharing a montage of recent pop culture as a stentorian narrator worries that modern conveniences have perverted the concept of survival of the fittest.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

Novak did what Novak does - finding a way to beat one of the fittest, most athletic younger guys at the age of 39.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

In the meantime, it will be survival of the fittest drivers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026

New CEO Greg Abel might favor survival of the fittest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

As animals struggled to survive, the best-adapted variants—the fittest mutations—were serially selected.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

One camera was fitted with a cover called a “Flock sock.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

To investigate, the researchers fitted five mature saltwater crocodiles with satellite tracking devices.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

By the late 1970s, one in two Greenlandic women of childbearing age -- at least 4,070 women -- had been fitted with an IUD, according to an investigation presented in September 2025.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

He was fitted with a pacemaker in 2024 after falling ill on holiday in Malaysia.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Valentina's helmet, fitted with electrodes, was also uncomfortable.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

It’s fitting that this book, which presents the afterlife as a play of voices, has been adapted as an opera.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

San Francisco is still bolting new pieces together, including fitting Mike Evans into the offense on the fly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Jackson, on his third start, got his first Villa goal following his record £65m move from Chelsea as he starts proving he is a fitting replacement for the departed Ollie Watkins.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

The project served as the final chapter in Cameron’s own extensive renovation of the home—and was particularly fitting given his growing career in real estate.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

“I have a lot on my mind. But tell me, how are you fitting in at school?”

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

Related Words

• able
• apt
• capable
• competent
• happy
• prepared
• qualified
• wise