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:
Jacob said: "I think if you were to buy a suit from a shop you'd be tempted to go with more of a safe option whereas with this, you're forced to try other things."
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The suit cited another exchange when the two covered a press event for a movie release.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
I feel like I should be typing this column while wearing a Hazmat suit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Just inside the door, there was a flimsy mannequin with the face of a much younger, slimmer Trump, wearing a red “Trump 2028” hat, a dark suit, and a signature red tie.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
Phineas is "always finding something which did not suit him in every place he tried," says his mother.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
By keeping the action and themes largely Earthbound and removing the interstellar glamour associated with flying supes and suits, “Lanterns” reignites our consideration of a superhero long written off in the live-action realm.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Its candidates wear things like suits printed with playing cards and steampunk-inflected top hats.
From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2026
"The arrival of another effective oral option is a positive development and should help more people access treatment that best suits their needs and preferences," he added.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Separately, class action suits against Suno and Udio have drawn support from more than 1,800 independent artists who say their recordings were used without permission to train the company’s models.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Two boys—tall, thickset teens—trailed behind her, clad in threadbare suits, looking bored and sullen.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Climate change has had some advantages for Germany's winegrowers over the years, allowing them to experiment with grape varieties better suited to warmer climes and making cultivation possible in new areas.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Different materials, including liquid resin and filaments, are suited for different jobs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
The ranch ended up being even better suited to them than they could have realized, according to Oates.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Video shows a suited man climbing into the vehicle’s cab, the container lowering, and the truck pulling away.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
In the hope of pleasing everyone, she took everyone’s advice, and like the old man and his donkey in the fable suited nobody.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Now that he’s been benched, Tagovailoa knows he may be suiting up somewhere else next season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
Browne, the fashion designer known for his shrunken suiting, recently opened two new stores on the Upper East Side, joining other labels like Khaite, Toteme, Kallmeyer and Ulla Johnson, which all had flagships downtown first.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
Cleared for contact Monday after wearing a non-contact jersey last week, Harris took another step toward suiting up for the season opener in São Paulo, Brazil, against the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2025
Team principal Andrea Stella said McLaren's margin over the field was also down to the track characteristics suiting their car, and the fact that Norris is "a little bit of a specialist in Austria".
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2025
When a Graham Avenue trolley came along, he swung up on to the platform suiting his rhythm to the car’s slowing down.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
