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• mitt
  mitt

  noun
• mitt.
  mitt.

  abbreviation

  (in prescriptions) send.

mitt

¹ American  

[mit] / mɪt /

noun

1. Baseball.

   1. a rounded glove with one internal section for the four fingers and another for the thumb and having the side next to the palm of the hand protected by a thick padding, used by catchers.

   2. a somewhat similar glove but with less padding and having sections for the thumb and one or two fingers, used by first basemen.

2. a mitten.

3. Slang. a hand.

4. a glove that leaves the lower ends of the fingers bare, especially a long one made of lace or other fancy material and worn by women.

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mitt. ² American  

abbreviation

1. (in prescriptions) send.

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mitt British  

/ mɪt /

noun

1. any of various glovelike hand coverings, such as one that does not cover the fingers

2. short for mitten

3. baseball a large round thickly padded leather mitten worn by the catcher See also glove

4. (often plural) a slang word for hand

5. slang a boxing glove

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Etymology

Origin of mitt¹

First recorded in 1755–65; short for mitten

Origin of mitt.²

From the Latin word mitte

Explanation

If you want to play on a baseball team, get a mitt, a protective leather glove. And if you want to take a cake out of the oven, get an oven mitt, a giant heat-proof mitten. A mitt protects a hand. Since mitts were introduced to baseball in the 19th century, every player on a team uses one. Before that, players used their bare hands — or they improvised gloves with the fingers cut off, to slightly pad the catching hand. Today's mitts are wide and sturdy. An oven mitt isn’t helpful in baseball, but it also protects hands. In fact, mitt can also mean "hand" informally: "Get your mitts off my chocolate cupcake!"

Example Sentences

“At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s,” Sen. Mitt Romney said in announcing his decision not to seek reelection in 2024.

From Slate • Apr. 24, 2026

He can afford to pay more now, but would the 28-year-old Mitt still on the make have thought so?

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

He wrote widely there, and advised the presidential campaigns of John McCain, George W. Bush, and Mitt Romney.

From Barron's • Dec. 11, 2025

There were subsequently some successes at the state level, most notably in Massachusetts under GOP Gov. Mitt Romney, who passed a program with some elements that appealed to Republicans.

From Salon • Nov. 18, 2025

Mitt had slipped back down into her coat, out of sight.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

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