pit

pit¹ [pıt] n

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1¦(hole)¦

2¦(mine)¦

3¦(mark)¦

4¦(untidy place)¦

5 be the pits

6 in/at the pit of your stomach

7¦(car racing)¦

8¦(in a theatre)¦

9¦(in a garage)¦

10 a/the pit of something

11¦(in fruit)¦

12¦(body part)¦

13¦(business)¦

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[Sense: 1-5,7-13; Origin: Old English pytt]

[Sense: 6; Date: 1800-1900; : Dutc]

1.) ¦(HOLE)¦

a) a hole in the ground, especially one made by digging

▪ The female digs a pit in which to lay the eggs.

▪ a five-foot deep pit

→↑sandpit

b) a large hole in the ground from which stones or minerals are obtained by digging

gravel/sand/chalk pit

2.) ¦(MINE)¦

especially BrE a coal mine

▪ Dad first went down the pit (=worked in a coal mine) when he was 15 years old.

▪ a national strike against pit closures (=when a coal mine is closed permanently)

3.) ¦(MARK)¦

a small hollow mark in the surface of something, especially on your skin as the result of a disease

▪ the deep pits left by smallpox

4.) ¦(UNTIDY PLACE)¦ [usually singular]

spoken a house or room that is dirty, untidy, or in bad condition

5.) be the pits

spoken informal to be extremely bad

▪ The company refused to pay - I think it's the pits.

6.) in/at the pit of your stomach

if you have a feeling in the pit of your stomach, you have a sick or tight feeling in your stomach, usually because you are nervous or afraid

▪ I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something terrible was going to happen.

7.) ¦(CAR RACING)¦

the pits

the place beside the track in a car race where cars can come in for petrol, new tyres etc

→↑pit stop

8.) ¦(IN A THEATRE)¦

an ↑orchestra pit

9.) ¦(IN A GARAGE)¦

a hole in the floor of a garage that lets you get under a car to repair it

▪ an inspection pit

10.) a/the pit of sth

literary a situation which makes you feel very bad

▪ Just thinking about the future plunged her into a pit of despair .

11.) ¦(IN FRUIT)¦

especially AmE the single large hard seed in some fruits

British Equivalent: stone

▪ a peach pit

12.) ¦(BODY PART)¦ informal

an ↑armpit

13.) ¦(BUSINESS)¦

AmE the area of a ↑stock exchange where people buy and sell shares

British Equivalent: floor

pit ²

pit² v past tense and past participle pitted present participle pitting

1.) [T usually passive]

to put small marks or holes in the surface of something

be pitted with sth

▪ The whole street was pitted with potholes.

2.) [T] especially AmE to take out the single hard seed inside some fruits

= ↑stone

▪ Peel and pit two avocados.

3.) [i]AmE

to stop in a car race to get petrol or have your car repaired

→↑pitted

pit against / [pit sb/sth against sb/sth] phr v

to test someone's strength, ability, power etc in a competition or fight against someone or something else

▪ We'll be pitting our team against the champions.

pit your wits against sb

(=compete against someone using your intelligence or knowledge)

▪ Pit your wits against family or friends!

pit yourself against sth/sb

▪ The men had to pit themselves against the forces of nature.

pit out phr v

to ↑sweat so much that your clothes become wet under your arms