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• wits
  wits

  plural noun

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

  noun

  University of the Witwatersrand

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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Explanation

Your wits are your ability to think clearly and quickly. If the class lizard escapes, you can panic — or you can keep your wits, calmly catch him in a box, and return him to his terrarium. The word wits is used to describe a person's collective mental faculties. If you hang onto your wits in an emergency, that means you remain resourceful and capable. On the other hand, if haunted houses scare you out of your wits, you will probably lose your ability to keep calm and collected at the first sight of a vampire. Wits, like wit, derives from the Old English gewit, "understanding or sense."

Example Sentences

For those who retain their wits, the open questions are still interesting.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

At the end of each show, the judges pick two characters to face off in a battle of wits.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

I am reasonably educated, and at 64, I still have most of my wits.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 12, 2026

They talk about all of the things that have been left unsaid, buried by their never-ending battle of wits.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2026

Bel and the Serpent wasn’t so frightening, as it mainly featured the quick wits of Daniel.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• fun
• joke
• satire