kit
1 Americannoun
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a set or collection of tools, supplies, instructional matter, etc., for a specific purpose.
a first-aid kit; a sales kit.
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the case for containing these.
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such a case and its contents.
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a set of materials or parts from which something can be assembled.
a model car made from a kit.
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Informal. a set, lot, or collection of things or persons.
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a wooden tub, pail, etc., usually circular.
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Chiefly British. a costume or outfit of clothing, especially for a specific purpose.
ski kit; dancing kit; battle kit.
verb (used with object)
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to package or make available in a kit.
a new model airplane that has just been kitted for the hobbyist.
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Chiefly British. to outfit or equip (often followed by out orup ).
idioms
noun
noun
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a set of tools, supplies, construction materials, etc, for use together or for a purpose
a first-aid kit
a model aircraft kit
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the case or container for such a set
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a set of pieces of equipment ready to be assembled
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( as modifier )
kit furniture
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clothing and other personal effects, esp those of a traveller or soldier
safari kit
battle kit
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informal clothing in general (esp in the phrase get one's kit off )
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a flax basket
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informal everything or everybody
noun
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an informal or diminutive name for kitten
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a cub of various small mammals, such as the ferret or fox
abbreviation
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of kit1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English kit(te), kyt(t) “wooden bucket or tub,” from Middle Dutch kitte “jug, tankard”
Origin of kit2
First recorded in 1510–20; origin uncertain
Origin of kit3
First recorded in 1555–65; shortening of kitten ( def. )
Explanation
A collection of things used for a certain purpose is a kit, like a first aid kit with bandages and aspirin, or a tool kit with hammers, screwdrivers, and wrenches. There are kits meant for camping, taking care of your cat, and painting landscapes. A group of items needed to build or assemble something is also a kit, like a model airplane kit. The case you keep these things in can also be called a kit. A completely different sort of kit is a baby animal like a fox or beaver kit. A set of drums — bass, tom, snare and cymbals — is commonly called a "drum kit."
Vocabulary lists containing kit
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:
She drove to a David’s Bridal in Chico with a friend to buy a wedding dress preservation kit, which involved packaging up the dress and shipping it off to be cleaned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
The tennis legend - a boyhood Real fan who holds member's number 67,778 - included a photo of himself as a child in a club kit in his response to the news.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
He keeps supplies in his attic and a crawl space under the house - here lies about 120 litres of water, cash, a first-aid kit and a generator.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
Velicovich advised the company and became a shareholder, along with his fellow first-aid kit distributors, Sinensky and Vintfeld.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
He had called Mom every day to ask about the kit, and she had called him each night to tell him a story before he went to sleep.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
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Cassingham, who had sailed on the Odyssey with his wife, Kit, said that despite the uncertainty and frustration, the couple didn’t have any regrets about their life at sea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
And that’s when the idea for “Pinball Wizard” came to the songwriter, who used to play pinball at the local arcade with Cohn and The Who’s producer Kit Lambert.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
Kit Harington and Mirren Mack star in a screen version of the classic novel that, in its stagy artifice, follows a familiar pattern among recent period pieces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Kit Harington has been tapped to join the highly anticipated Harry Potter TV series as the wizarding world's celebrity-turned-Hogwarts instructor Gilderoy Lockhart, HBO confirmed to the BBC.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Kit tried to keep a gingerly distance from the kettle.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
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"With the setup at KIT, we scanned 2,000 specimens in a single week."
From Science Daily ● Mar. 10, 2026
KIT researchers recently modeled the effect of a worldwide redistribution of nitrogen fertilizer use.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2023
Peter Kim of KIT Trading, part of Vulpes Investment Management, manages a $10 million cryptocurrency arbitrage operation.
From Reuters ● Apr. 2, 2018
The search for it brought them to KIT, which already had a facility, unique in the Western Hemisphere, for processing and recycling tritium.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 29, 2017
"Like, 'Hey, Eleanor, KIT, LYLAS, stay sweet, Park.'"
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
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"We more or less went voluntarily," the former careworker, 63, told AFP at a community centre kitted out with stretcher beds for a handful of evacuees, including herself and husband Ulrich.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
They came of age when Orlando Bloom’s Legolas, kitted out in a blond wig, armor and prosthetic pointy ears, was a teen heartthrob.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
The characters are kitted out for runway battles worthy of “Paris Is Burning” and the TV series “Pose.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
Over two sold-out nights, she turned the 20,000-capacity venue into a magical playground, kitted out like a fairytale castle.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
An adjoining chamber was kitted up as a forge, with fire-place, bellows, and anvil, complete, all which we had found in the ship, packed together, and ready to set up.
From Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
Elsewhere, Horsham Matters, a charity in West Sussex, estimates that every school year, parents spend £336 on kitting out children for primary school, rising to £439 for secondary school.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
More recently, she’s seen how dedicated young collectors are making their homes hospitable to plant life, kitting out their living rooms with grow lights and foggers.
From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2019
Gorder warns against the “junk drawer” effect, where owners try to save by kitting out their rentals with dated furniture and hand-me-downs.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 16, 2018
A second researcher, cell biologist Anthony Vecchiarelli, saved more than $10,000 while kitting out his lab with free peristaltic pumps, circulating water baths, slide warmers and consumables.
From Nature ● Feb. 6, 2018
Ho, yuss! he come, and she come with her kitting, as is almost as big a cat as she is.
From The Opal Serpent by Fergus Hume
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