quit
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
to stop, cease, or discontinue.
She quit what she was doing to help me paint the house.
- Antonyms:
- start
-
to depart from; leave (a place or person).
They quit the city for the seashore every summer.
- Antonyms:
- enter
-
to give up or resign; let go; relinquish: She quit her job.
He quit his claim to the throne.
She quit her job.
-
to release one's hold of (something grasped).
-
to acquit or conduct (oneself).
-
to free or rid (oneself): to quit oneself of doubts.
-
to clear (a debt); repay.
verb (used without object)
-
to cease from doing something; stop.
-
to give up or resign one's job or position.
He keeps threatening to quit.
-
to depart or leave.
-
to stop trying, struggling, or the like; accept or acknowledge defeat.
adjective
noun
verb
-
(tr) to depart from; leave
he quitted the place hastily
-
to resign; give up (a job)
he quitted his job today
-
(intr) (of a tenant) to give up occupancy of premises and leave them
they received notice to quit
-
to desist or cease from (something or doing something); break off
quit laughing
-
(tr) to pay off (a debt); discharge or settle
-
archaic (tr) to conduct or acquit (oneself); comport (oneself)
he quits himself with great dignity
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quit1
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English verb qui(t)ten “to pay, acquit oneself,” from Old French quit(t)er, from Medieval Latin quittāre, quiētāre “to release, discharge,” Late Latin quiētare “to put to rest, quiet; ” see also quite ( def. )
Origin of quit2
First recorded in 1845–50; originally Jamaican English, of uncertain origin
Explanation
To quit means to stop doing something. You might quit a lousy job or quit eating dessert. The verb quit can also mean to leave a place or depart from a location. This meaning isn't used as frequently in conversation now as it used to be, but you can still use it to mean leaving somewhere. For example, if you choose to move from sunny California to Maine because you think you'll like the seasons better, you could say you plan to quit California for a colder climate.
Vocabulary lists containing quit
Scrabble: Words that Begin with Q
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Workshop 3, Part 1
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The Search Is Over: Synonyms for "Stop"
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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:
A decade ago, Ray Kerr quit baseball, dropped out of community college and went home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Phil Davies had been a Greens member for seven years, but had announced on social media on Tuesday his decision to quit the party had been "accelerated" by the motion over the weekend.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Others are still working at jobs they’d quit if they could.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Eve Karlin was 38 when, last June, she quit her fitness job in Los Angeles to make aliyah.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Because you quit coming to work! And it’s a government job, Stefi!”
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
It’s also interesting since a source alerted me to the fact that Rocket’s first commit happened just after Sequoia quitted of their CoreOS shares and board seat.
From Forbes ● Dec. 3, 2014
Even by 1782, as an admiring French visitor observed, Jefferson, "without having quitted his own country," had become "an American who...is a musician, draftsman, astronomer, natural philosopher, jurist and a statesman."
From Time Magazine Archive
Within a few hours, practically all the delegates had quitted the capital of the Commonwealth.
From Time Magazine Archive
Amid delirious cheering, Signor Mussolini quitted the Capitol and strode toward his automobile.
From Time Magazine Archive
Harriet’s manner of speaking of the circumstance before they quitted the ballroom, she had strong hopes.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
On his return, he spent five months as a probationary constable in the Metropolitan Police, before quitting to become a physical training instructor at a small prep school in Hampshire.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Prosecutors say Linton, 41, was furious with co-workers and thinking about quitting her job at Kaiser Permanente hospital in West L.A. when she drove down La Brea Avenue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The couple previously revealed that they were quitting California to move to Hawaii.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
That afternoon, Coxon told his Anthropic colleagues he was quitting in a Slack message, saying he feared the possibility of human extinction without proper international coordination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Another person shared his experience of quitting school and realizing that life isn’t a fantasy world.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
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.
