suit
Americannoun
-
suits
plural
-
a set of clothing, armor, or the like, intended for wear together.
-
a set of men's garments of the same color and fabric, consisting of trousers, a jacket, and sometimes a vest.
-
a similarly matched set consisting of a skirt and jacket, and sometimes a topcoat or blouse, worn by women.
-
any costume worn for some special activity.
a running suit.
-
Slang. Often suits an executive, manager, or official, especially one regarded as a faceless decision maker.
-
Law. the act, the process, or an instance of suing in a court of law; legal prosecution; lawsuit.
-
Cards.
-
one of the four sets or classes (spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs) into which a common deck of playing cards is divided.
-
the aggregate of cards belonging to one of these sets held in a player's hand at one time.
Spades were his long suit.
-
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.
-
-
the wooing or courting of a woman.
She rejected his suit.
-
the act of making a petition or an appeal.
-
a petition, as to a person of rank or station.
-
Also called set. Nautical. a complete group of sails for a boat.
-
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)
-
suits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
suited,
past participle, past
-
suiting
present participle
-
to make appropriate, adapt, or accommodate, as one thing to another.
to suit the punishment to the crime.
-
to be appropriate or becoming to.
Blue suits you very well.
-
to be or prove satisfactory, agreeable, or acceptable to; satisfy or please.
The arrangements suit me.
-
to provide with a suit, as of clothing or armor; clothe; array.
verb (used without object)
-
suits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
suited,
past participle, past
-
suiting
present participle
-
to be appropriate or suitable; accord.
-
to be satisfactory, agreeable, or acceptable.
verb phrase
idioms
-
follow suit,
-
Cards. to play a card of the same suit as that led.
-
to follow the example of another.
The girl jumped over the fence, and her playmates followed suit.
-
-
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
-
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
-
(in combination) any outfit worn for a specific purpose
a spacesuit
-
any set of items, such as the full complement of sails of a vessel or parts of personal armour
-
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
-
a civil proceeding; lawsuit
-
the act or process of suing in a court of law
-
a petition or appeal made to a person of superior rank or status or the act of making such a petition
-
slang a business executive or white-collar manager
-
a man's courting of a woman
-
-
to play a card of the same suit as the card played immediately before it
-
to act in the same way as someone else
-
-
something that one excels in
verb
-
to make or be fit or appropriate for
that dress suits you
-
to meet the requirements or standards (of)
-
to be agreeable or acceptable to (someone)
-
to pursue one's own intentions without reference to others
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
suitsimple
-
suitssimple
-
have suitedperfect
-
has suitedperfect
-
am suitingprogressive
-
are suitingprogressive
-
is suitingprogressive
-
have been suitingperfect progressive
-
has been suitingperfect progressive
Past
-
suitedsimple
-
had suitedperfect
-
was suitingprogressive
-
were suitingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Units 2–3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"When Cultures Meet"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
You can't be when it suits you to do the right things, then when you don't want it to suit you, not.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Clad in a blue suit and squinting at a computer screen in his office, Putin leaned forward and clicked his mouse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Medical records cited in the suit note that on her last hospital visit, her blood pressure was dangerously high and only temporarily responsive to medication.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
Collins shopped with his grandmother Kathy Red Elk for a suit Walters could wear to court.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
He pulls a small rectangular package out of the pocket of his suit jacket and hands it to me.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
The Coinbase chief cut a striking figure, bald and dressed in navy suits, when he visited lawmakers on Capitol Hill to push for the bill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Getting the rotting food off racks towering six stories high required hundreds of workers in protective suits to dislodge the moldering food.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
"People may be interested in learning about the health benefits of different pigmented rice varieties and, based on this knowledge, choosing the type that best suits their needs," says Gowda.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
The suits have led to substantial pay outs in some cases.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Did he think I’d asked her to come—left my post and rushed to ring up my movie-star friend so she could watch me march around in bathing suits?
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Earlier methods also produced muonium atoms traveling at different speeds and in many directions, making them poorly suited for extremely precise gravity measurements.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
“Our part of the universe” is well suited for autocallable notes because the reference stocks “naturally have higher volatility,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Mr. Warrack earned a degree in Renaissance history at the University of Warwick, but quickly realized he wasn’t suited for the life of an academic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Watch: Are women better suited to endurance exercise than men?
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
We wanted a modern partnership that suited us both.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Glasner tends to prefer playing without the ball – his Crystal Palace team averaged 46% possession last season – while the Austrian also likes to attack directly at pace, suiting Delap's natural assets.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 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
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
After suiting up, I went out to the rover and dragged the solar cells off the roof.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
