wits
1 Britishplural noun
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(sometimes singular) the ability to reason and act, esp quickly (esp in the phrase have one's wits about one )
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(sometimes singular) right mind, sanity (esp in the phrase out of one's wits )
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at a loss to know how to proceed
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obsolete the five senses or mental faculties
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to gain a livelihood by craftiness and cunning rather than by hard work
noun
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.
Maybe she’s going to drop me somewhere, and it’ll be up to me to get back to the Ranch on my own: no supplies, no food, only my wits and my inner strength.
From Literature
Tony Pulis, who pitted his wits against the great European managerial names at Stoke City, believes there is one main reason why the Premier League's list of winning managers has no English names.
From BBC
And before I had a moment to gather my wits, I was arguing with the whole lot of them.
From Literature
“This has got to be something that they want to do and want to do all the time and want to talk about to their wits’ end,” he says of his hosts.
From Los Angeles Times
She needs more medical attention than he, but both have their wits about them.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
