pit stop
Americannoun
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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.
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Informal. any brief stop, as during a ride or trip in an automobile, so that one may get refreshments, use a restroom, etc.
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a place where one makes such stops.
noun
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motor racing a brief stop made at a pit by a racing car for repairs, refuelling, etc
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informal any stop made during a car journey for refreshment, rest, or refuelling
Etymology
Origin of pit stop
First recorded in 1930–35
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.
It’s a quick pit stop before coming home after work.
From Salon • May 30, 2026
Mr. Kshatriya describes the moon as a pit stop on “the great odyssey to Mars”—and then “to the asteroid belt and to the Jovian moons.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
When times are tough, it’s hard to find a better deal to feed a family than a pizza, purchased at a convenient pit stop on the way home from work.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
The 19-year-old Italian had not yet made a pit stop, while his rivals for victory McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Mercedes team-mate George Russell had, when Oliver Bearman's Haas crashed heavily.
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
Every hour he made a pit stop to relieve himself and to buy more economysized bottles of Pepsi, more chocolate chip cookies, more red licorice and corn chips.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
