pit stop

[ pit stop ]

noun

1. Auto Racing. a stop in the pits during a race, in which a competing car receives gasoline, a change of tires, or other servicing or repair.
2. Informal. any brief stop, as during a ride or trip in an automobile, so that one may get refreshments, use a restroom, etc.
3. a place where one makes such stops.

pit stop

noun

1. motor racing a brief stop made at a pit by a racing car for repairs, refuelling, etc
2. informal.
   any stop made during a car journey for refreshment, rest, or refuelling

Word History and Origins

Origin of pit stop¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

They’re really fast in the pit stop and it just shows that if you give people any opportunity, they take it.

From Washington Post

Dixon was forced to pit late because of a caution flag stemming from a pit lane accident that occurred when Stefan Wilson’s wheels locked up as he drove in a for pit stop on the narrow pit lane.

From Washington Post

The stories are somewhat abridged, and at 3⅔ hours, the full collection is just enough, perhaps, to get you to the next pit stop.

From Washington Post

I only had to refill it with ice three times during an 11-day road trip, saving me money and limiting the number of times I had to make gas-station pit stops.

From Outside Online

Roadside fruit standsOn highways and country roads throughout Costa Rica, open-air fruit stands are an easy pit stop.

From Eater

Time was, Ajo was best known as the last pit stop for tourists bound for the beaches of Sonora.

From The Daily Beast

The presentation came off like a pit stop on the way to the afterparty.

From The Daily Beast

Between appearances and interviews, during a pit stop in St. Louis, she picks up the phone in her hotel room to chat.

From The Daily Beast

Raised a Roman Catholic, with a short pit stop in New Age Buddhism, she long ago left a life of faith.

From The Daily Beast

For too many male athletes, college is just a pit stop on the road to the NFL or the NBA.

From The Daily Beast