suit
Americannoun
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suits
plural
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a set of clothing, armor, or the like, intended for wear together.
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a set of men's garments of the same color and fabric, consisting of trousers, a jacket, and sometimes a vest.
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a similarly matched set consisting of a skirt and jacket, and sometimes a topcoat or blouse, worn by women.
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any costume worn for some special activity.
a running suit.
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Slang. Often suits an executive, manager, or official, especially one regarded as a faceless decision maker.
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Law. the act, the process, or an instance of suing in a court of law; legal prosecution; lawsuit.
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Cards.
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one of the four sets or classes (spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs) into which a common deck of playing cards is divided.
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the aggregate of cards belonging to one of these sets held in a player's hand at one time.
Spades were his long suit.
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one of various sets or classes into which less common decks of cards are divided, as lances, hammers, etc., found in certain decks formerly used or used in fortune telling.
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the wooing or courting of a woman.
She rejected his suit.
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the act of making a petition or an appeal.
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a petition, as to a person of rank or station.
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Also called set. Nautical. a complete group of sails for a boat.
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one of the seven classes into which a standard set of 28 dominoes may be divided by matching the numbers on half the face of each: a three suit contains the 3-blank, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5, and 3-6. Since each such suit contains one of each of the other possible suits, only one complete suit is available per game.
verb (used with object)
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suits,
present (3rd person singular)
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suited,
past participle, past
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suiting
present participle
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to make appropriate, adapt, or accommodate, as one thing to another.
to suit the punishment to the crime.
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to be appropriate or becoming to.
Blue suits you very well.
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to be or prove satisfactory, agreeable, or acceptable to; satisfy or please.
The arrangements suit me.
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to provide with a suit, as of clothing or armor; clothe; array.
verb (used without object)
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suits,
present (3rd person singular)
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suited,
past participle, past
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suiting
present participle
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to be appropriate or suitable; accord.
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to be satisfactory, agreeable, or acceptable.
verb phrase
idioms
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follow suit,
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Cards. to play a card of the same suit as that led.
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to follow the example of another.
The girl jumped over the fence, and her playmates followed suit.
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suit oneself, to do what one wants to do or what is best for oneself, without regard for others (often used imperatively).
I don’t agree with you, but okay, suit yourself.
noun
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any set of clothes of the same or similar material designed to be worn together, now usually (for men) a jacket with matching trousers or (for women) a jacket with matching or contrasting skirt or trousers
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(in combination) any outfit worn for a specific purpose
a spacesuit
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any set of items, such as the full complement of sails of a vessel or parts of personal armour
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any of the four sets of 13 cards in a pack of playing cards, being spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. The cards in each suit are two to ten, jack, queen, and king in the usual order of ascending value, with ace counting as either the highest or lowest according to the game
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a civil proceeding; lawsuit
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the act or process of suing in a court of law
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a petition or appeal made to a person of superior rank or status or the act of making such a petition
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slang a business executive or white-collar manager
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a man's courting of a woman
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to play a card of the same suit as the card played immediately before it
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to act in the same way as someone else
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something that one excels in
verb
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to make or be fit or appropriate for
that dress suits you
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to meet the requirements or standards (of)
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to be agreeable or acceptable to (someone)
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to pursue one's own intentions without reference to others
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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suitsimple
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suitssimple
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have suitedperfect
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has suitedperfect
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am suitingprogressive
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are suitingprogressive
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is suitingprogressive
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have been suitingperfect progressive
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has been suitingperfect progressive
Past
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suitedsimple
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had suitedperfect
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was suitingprogressive
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were suitingprogressive
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had been suitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of suit
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English siute, sute, suite (noun), from Anglo-French, Old French, akin to sivre (modern French, suivre ) “to follow”; see sue, suite
Explanation
Among many other meanings, a suit is a jacket and pants that match — formalwear for men. Suits are well-suited (appropriate) for some jobs and formal events, like a funeral. A suit is also short for a lawsuit — like when you file a suit against a doctor who removed the wrong kidney. A suit is also an appeal to someone who has something you want — like money or affection. In cards, the suits are hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs. If a hat looks good on you, it suits you. In fact, you can say of just about anything you like, "That suits me." Like a well-fitting suit, when something suits you, you enjoy it and feel comfortable with it.
Vocabulary lists containing suit
Orbiting Jupiter
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Units 2–3
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"When Cultures Meet"
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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:
Even accounts created in a "Kids Mode" intended for users younger than 13 gathered email addresses and other personal information, the suit claimed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
On Feb. 26, 2026, someone requested a refund after purchasing $500 tickets to a Demon Hunter show in Albany, N.Y., believing it was for a KPop Demon Hunters concert, according to the suit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
In July, the two parties settled the suit for an undisclosed sum.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Defensively, his athleticism allows him to cover for the relative lack of physicality in his potential midfield partners at United who suit playing in small spaces.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Behind her walked a man in a brown business suit.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
This style of play suits the strengths of Kobbie Mainoo too, who returned to action with a cameo in Saturday's 4-2 defeat by AC Milan.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
This suits the high-press Carrick has used in pre-season.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
It was chosen from among scores of related suits in the Judicial Council coordinated proceeding in California state court.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
His hair is neatly parted and he is known for his skinny suits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Along with the stifling crowds, there were jugglers and swordsmen and curio sellers and camels lumbering under the weight of tourists in starched suits and petticoats.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Some in Washington see smaller U.S. oil companies as more nimble and better suited to reviving Venezuela’s crude production than the established players, even under the new, more motivated regime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
“But we see relatively little biologic read-through to other indications given melanoma, as the most immune-sensitive and highest-TMB tumor, is uniquely suited for a vaccine.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
The herd was chosen because it is suited to "outdoor conservation grazing, including in wetter grassland habitats", the estate added.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
To investigate how information about maternal age is passed to offspring, Gribble's laboratory studies rotifers, tiny aquatic animals that reproduce rapidly and are well suited for laboratory experiments.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
All of them, including Eisman, thought Eisman was temperamentally less than perfectly suited to making short-term trading judgments.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The possibility of him suiting up in Wolverine yellow, sorry, maize and blue makes me want to sign onto the next Artemis mission, so long as it abandons me on Pluto.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
“I just remember Tommy saying, ‘I’ll meet you out there,’ and suiting up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
After first suiting up in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, Evans' "Cap" became a lynchpin within the MCU's biggest box office successes.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
Our critic explained that “While ‘superfine’ is a tailor’s term for the best wool suiting fabric, in the context of this show it is also dandiacal black vernacular for ‘stylin’ out.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2025
A truck would bring them twice a day from Reston, and the first shipment would end up in Nancy’s air lock while she was suiting up.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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.
