wits

¹ British  

/ wɪts /

plural noun

1. (sometimes singular) the ability to reason and act, esp quickly (esp in the phrase have one's wits about one )

2. (sometimes singular) right mind, sanity (esp in the phrase out of one's wits )

3. at a loss to know how to proceed

4. obsolete  the five senses or mental faculties

5. to gain a livelihood by craftiness and cunning rather than by hard work

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Wits ² British  

/ wɪts /

noun

1. informal  University of the Witwatersrand

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Example Sentences

She needs more medical attention than he, but both have their wits about them.

From Los Angeles Times

We can see that Shakespeare really was an upstart compared to the Oxford and Cambridge wits, but also how he cobbled together a practical, hands-on education in Shoreditch.

From The Wall Street Journal

Regaining her wits, she ran to the kitchen and grabbed a small fire extinguisher.

From Los Angeles Times

Pushed to her wits’ end, Linda can no longer suffer those limits, even if she knows that it’s against the same code she swore by when becoming a therapist herself.

From Salon

Gannon-Doak is Scotland's flying machine, the man-child who was supposed to scare the wits out of the Greeks with his speed and his daring, and electrify Hampden with his personality.

From BBC

Related Words

• fun
• joke
• satire