fit

[ fit ]

/ fɪt /

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adjective, fit·ter, fit·test.

adapted or suited; appropriate: This water isn't fit for drinking.A long-necked giraffe is fit for browsing treetops.

proper or becoming: This is not fit behavior for a funeral service.

qualified or competent, as for an office or function: It took several interviews to find a fit candidate for the position.

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

in good physical condition; in good health: He's fit for the race.

Biology.

being adapted to the prevailing conditions and producing offspring that survive to reproductive age.
contributing genetic information to the gene pool of the next generation.
(of a population) maintaining or increasing the group's numbers in the environment.

verb (used with object), fit·ted or fit, fit·ting.

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

to be proper or becoming for.

to be of the right size or shape for: The dress fitted her perfectly.

to adjust or make conform: She had the jeweler fit the ring to her finger.

to make qualified or competent: Courage and patience are among the qualities that fit a person for leadership.

to prepare: This school fits students for college.

to put with precise placement or adjustment: He fitted the picture into the frame.

to provide; furnish; equip: I fitted the cabinet door with a new handle.

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

verb (used without object), fit·ted or fit, fit·ting.

to be suitable or proper.

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

the manner in which a thing fits: The fit was perfect.

something that fits: The coat is a poor fit.

the process of fitting.

Verb Phrases

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR fit

1 suitable, apt, proper, meet, applicable, apropos.

2 fitting, befitting.

5 healthy, hale, hardy, strong, robust.

See synonyms for fit on Thesaurus.com

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Question 1 of 7

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Idioms about fit

fit the bill. bill¹ (def. 16):

fit to be tied, Informal. extremely annoyed or angry: He was fit to be tied when I told him I'd wrecked the car.

fit to kill, Informal. to the limit; exceedingly: She was dressed up fit to kill.

Origin of fit

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”

usage note for fit

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 WORDS FROM fit

fit·ta·ble, adjectiveun·fit·ta·ble, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fit

fit , fitted (see usage note at the current entry)

Other definitions for fit (2 of 5)

fit²

[ fit ]

/ fɪt /

noun

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

an onset, spell, or period of emotion, feeling, inclination, activity, etc.: a fit of anger;a fit of weeping.

Origin of fit

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English fitt “round of fighting”; see fit³

Other definitions for fit (3 of 5)

fit³

[ fit ]

/ fɪt /

noun Archaic.

a song, ballad, or story.

a division of a song, ballad, or story.

Origin of fit

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

Other definitions for fit (4 of 5)

fit⁴

[ fit ]

/ fɪt /

verb Nonstandard (chiefly Older Use).

simple past tense of fight.

Origin of fit

⁴

First recorded in 1805–10

Other definitions for fit (5 of 5)

FIT

Banking. Federal Insurance Tax.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fit in a sentence

“The growth of a large business is merely the survival of the fittest,” proclaimed John D. Rockefeller Sr., after reading Spencer.
American Dreams: ‘The Call of the Wild’ by Jack London|Nathaniel Rich|January 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This is highly unusual in the war culture of Mogadishu, where survival of the fittest means profit however you can.
Somalia’s Mother Teresa Fights Famine|Eliza Griswold|June 26, 2011|DAILY BEAST
In the old mining days out West the law of the survival of the fittest held good, and he who survived had to be very fit indeed.
Blazed Trail Stories|Stewart Edward White
The doctrine of the survival of the fittest applies in all sciences, social as well as natural.
The Two Great Republics: Rome and the United States|James Hamilton Lewis

It is not the fittest that are preserved so much as it is the unfittest that are killed.
Theism or Atheism|Chapman Cohen
Look ye, Captain, we know what is fittest for our Prisoners.
The Beggar's Opera|John Gay
The exploit shed such lustre on his name that he was soon regarded as the fittest candidate for the Presidency.
A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year|Edwin Emerson

British Dictionary definitions for fit (1 of 3)

fit¹

/ (fɪt) /

verb fits, fitting or fitted or US fit

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

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

(tr) to adjust in order to render appropriatethey had to fit the idea to their philosophy

(tr) to supply with that which is needed

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

(tr) to make competent or readythe experience helped to fit him for the task

(tr) to locate with care

(intr) to correspond with the facts or circumstances

adjective fitter or fittest

suitable to a purpose or design; appropriate

having the right qualifications; qualifying

in good health

worthy or deservinga book fit to be read

(foll by an infinitive) in such an extreme condition that a specified consequence is likelyshe was fit to scream; you look fit to drop

mainly British informal (of a person) sexually attractive

noun

the manner in which something fits

the act or process of fitting

statistics the correspondence between observed and predicted characteristics of a distribution or modelSee goodness of fit

Derived forms of fit

fittable, adjective

Word Origin for fit

C14: probably from Middle Dutch vitten; related to Old Norse fitja to knit

British Dictionary definitions for fit (2 of 3)

fit²

/ (fɪt) /

noun

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

a sudden spell of emotiona fit of anger

an impulsive period of activity or lack of activity; mooda fit of laziness

give a person a fit to surprise a person in an outrageous manner

have a fit or throw a fit informal to become very angry or excited

in fits and starts or by fits and starts in spasmodic spells; irregularly

verb fits, fitting or fitted

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

Word Origin for fit

Old English fitt conflict; see fit ³

British Dictionary definitions for fit (3 of 3)

fit³

/ (fɪt) /

noun

archaic a story or song or a section of a story or song

Word Origin for fit

Old English fitt; related to Old Norse fit hem, Old High German fizza yarn

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with fit

fit

In addition to the idioms beginning with fit

fit as a fiddle
fit in
fit like a glove
fit out
fits and starts, by
fit to be tied
fit to kill

also see:

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

fit

OTHER WORDS FOR fit

Idioms about fit

Origin of fit

usage note for fit

OTHER WORDS FROM fit

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fit

Other definitions for fit (2 of 5)

Origin of fit

Other definitions for fit (3 of 5)

Origin of fit

Other definitions for fit (4 of 5)

Origin of fit

Other definitions for fit (5 of 5)

Words related to fit

How to use fit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fit (1 of 3)

Derived forms of fit

Word Origin for fit

British Dictionary definitions for fit (2 of 3)

Word Origin for fit

British Dictionary definitions for fit (3 of 3)

Word Origin for fit

Other Idioms and Phrases with fit