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:
“I mean, there’s no quit, there’s no surrender,” Harbaugh said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
As millions of people quit one job for another, lured by better opportunities and bigger salaries in an era of high inflation, the period became known as the “great resignation.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Burnham was elected MP in June after the Makerfield by-election, before securing the Labour Party leadership and becoming prime minister after Sir Keir Starmer lost the support of Labour MPs and quit Downing Street.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
With sales and the share price sliding, long-serving executive Dolf van den Brink quit as chief executive this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
I may have pressed pause on curing my parents’ blues with my mood-music playlist, but I couldn’t quit on Operation Save Fig.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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
Within a few hours, practically all the delegates had quitted the capital of the Commonwealth.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then, with his handsome features wreathed in the smile of one handsomely forgiven, he quitted the Vatican, was smartly saluted by the Papal Guard.
From Time Magazine Archive
After a sumptuous banquet in his honor he quitted Hungary last week.
From Time Magazine Archive
Gentlemen and ladies alike had quitted their beds; and “Oh! what is it?”—“Who is hurt?”—“What has happened?”—“Fetch a light!”—“Is it fire?”—“Are there robbers?”—“Where shall we run?” was demanded confusedly on all hands.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Speaking at the end of a regular ECB monetary policy press conference Thursday, Lagarde said she was quitting so that she could intervene in politics.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Job quitting sank to an 11-year low in 2025, government data show.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Alison Green, the advice maven behind Ask a Manager, explores what makes some employees so resistant to quitting a toxic job.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026
Other topics we delve into include why nurses keep quitting, the era of older grandparents and the review of Apple’s new folding iPhone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
This came after he told me that he was proud of me for not quitting today.
From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
