Adjacent Words

Pit definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PIT, v.t. To indent; to press into hollows.
1. To mark with little hollows, as by variolous pustules; as the face pitted by the small pocks.
2. To set in competition, as in combat.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a sizeable hole (usually in the ground); "they dug a pit to bury the body" [syn: pit, cavity]
2: a concavity in a surface (especially an anatomical depression) [syn: pit, fossa]
3: the hard inner (usually woody) layer of the pericarp of some fruits (as peaches or plums or cherries or olives) that contains the seed; "you should remove the stones from prunes before cooking" [syn: stone, pit, endocarp]
4: (Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment; "Hurl'd headlong...To bottomless perdition, there to dwell"- John Milton; "a demon from the depths of the pit"; "Hell is paved with good intentions"-Dr. Johnson [syn: Hell, perdition, Inferno, infernal region, nether region, pit] [ant: Heaven]
5: an enclosure in which animals are made to fight
6: (commodity exchange) the part of the floor of a commodity exchange where trading in a particular commodity is carried on
7: (auto racing) an area at the side of a racetrack where the race cars are serviced and refueled
8: a trap in the form of a concealed hole [syn: pit, pitfall]
9: a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate; "a British term for `quarry' is `stone pit'" [syn: pit, quarry, stone pit]
10: lowered area in front of a stage where an orchestra accompanies the performers [syn: orchestra pit, pit]
11: a workplace consisting of a coal mine plus all the buildings and equipment connected with it [syn: colliery, pit] v
1: set into opposition or rivalry; "let them match their best athletes against ours"; "pit a chess player against the Russian champion"; "He plays his two children off against each other" [syn: pit, oppose, match, play off]
2: mark with a scar; "The skin disease scarred his face permanently" [syn: scar, mark, pock, pit]
3: remove the pits from; "pit plums and cherries" [syn: pit, stone]

Merriam Webster's

geographical name river N California flowing SW into the Sacramento

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English pytt (akin to Old High German pfuzzi well), from Latin puteus well, pit Date: before 12th century 1. a. (1) a hole, shaft, or cavity in the ground (2) mine (3) a scooped-out place used for burning something (as charcoal) b. an area often sunken or depressed below the adjacent floor area: as (1) an enclosure in which animals are made to fight each other (2) a space at the front of a theater for the orchestra (3) an area in a securities or commodities exchange in which members trade (as stocks) 2. a. hell 1a — used with the b. a place or situation of futility, misery, or degradation c. plural worst <it's the pits> 3. a hollow or indentation especially in the surface of an organism: as a. a natural hollow in the surface of the body b. one of the indented scars left in the skin by a pustular disease ; pockmark c. a minute depression in the secondary wall of a plant cell functioning in the intercellular movement of water and dissolved material 4. any of the areas alongside an auto racecourse used for refueling and repairing the cars during a race — often used in plural with the II. verb (pitted; pitting) Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. a. to place, cast, bury, or store in a pit b. to make pits in; especially to scar or mark with pits 2. a. to set (as gamecocks) into or as if into a pit to fight b. to set into opposition or rivalry — usually used with against intransitive verb 1. to become marked with pits; especially to preserve for a time an indentation made by pressure 2. to make a pit stop III. noun Etymology: Dutch, from Middle Dutch — more at pith Date: 1841 the stone of a drupaceous fruit IV. transitive verb (pitted; pitting) Date: 1906 to remove the pit from (a fruit)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a a usu. large deep hole in the ground. b a hole made in digging for industrial purposes, esp. for coal (chalk pit; gravel pit). c a covered hole as a trap for esp. wild animals. 2 a an indentation left after smallpox, acne, etc. b a hollow in a plant or animal body or on any surface. 3 Brit. Theatr. a = orchestra pit. b usu. hist. seating at the back of the stalls. c the people in the pit. 4 a (the pit or bottomless pit) hell. b (the pits) sl. a wretched or the worst imaginable place, situation, person, etc. 5 a an area at the side of a track where racing cars are serviced and refuelled. b a sunken area in a workshop floor for access to a car's underside. 6 US the part of the floor of an exchange allotted to special trading (wheat-pit). 7 = COCKPIT. 8 Brit. sl. a bed. --v. (pitted, pitting) 1 tr. (usu. foll. by against) a set (one's wits, strength, etc.) in opposition or rivalry. b set (a cock, dog, etc.) to fight, orig. in a pit, against another. 2 tr. (usu. as pitted adj.) make pits, esp. scars, in. 3 intr. (of the flesh etc.) retain the impression of a finger etc. when touched. 4 tr. Hort. put (esp. vegetables etc. for storage) into a pit. Phrases and idioms: dig a pit for try to ensnare. pit-head 1 the top of a mineshaft. 2 the area surrounding this. pit of the stomach 1 the floor of the stomach. 2 the depression below the bottom of the breastbone. pit pony hist. a pony kept underground for haulage in coal-mines. pit-prop a balk of wood used to support the roof of a coal mine. pit-saw a large saw for use in a saw-pit. pit viper any US snake of the family Crotalidae with a pit between the eye and the nostril. Etymology: OE pytt ult. f. L puteus well 2. n. & v. US --n. the stone of a fruit. --v.tr. (pitted, pitting) remove pits from (fruit). Etymology: perh. Du., rel. to PITH

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cyclone cellar Cyclone cellar or pit pit . A cellar or excavation used for refuge from a cyclone, or tornado. [Middle U. S.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pit Pit, n. [OE. pit, put, AS. pytt a pit, hole, L. puteus a well, pit.] 1. A large cavity or hole in the ground, either natural or artificial; a cavity in the surface of a body; an indentation; specifically: (a) The shaft of a coal mine; a coal pit. (b) A large hole in the ground from which material is dug or quarried; as, a stone pit; a gravel pit; or in which material is made by burning; as, a lime pit; a charcoal pit. (c) A vat sunk in the ground; as, a tan pit. Tumble me into some loathsome pit. --Shak. 2. Any abyss; especially, the grave, or hades. Back to the infernal pit I drag thee chained. --Milton. He keepth back his soul from the pit. --Job xxxiii. 18. 3. A covered deep hole for entrapping wild beasts; a pitfall; hence, a trap; a snare. Also used figuratively. The anointed of the Lord was taken in their pits. --Lam. iv. 20. 4. A depression or hollow in the surface of the human body; as: (a) The hollow place under the shoulder or arm; the axilla, or armpit. (b) See Pit of the stomach (below). (c) The indentation or mark left by a pustule, as in smallpox. 5. Formerly, that part of a theater, on the floor of the house, below the level of the stage and behind the orchestra; now, in England, commonly the part behind the stalls; in the United States, the parquet; also, the occupants of such a part of a theater. 6. An inclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats. ``As fiercely as two gamecocks in the pit.'' --Locke. 7. [Cf. D. pit, akin to E. pith.] (Bot.) (a) The endocarp of a drupe, and its contained seed or seeds; a stone; as, a peach pit; a cherry pit, etc. (b) A depression or thin spot in the wall of a duct. Cold pit (Hort.), an excavation in the earth, lined with masonry or boards, and covered with glass, but not artificially heated, -- used in winter for the storing and protection of half-hardly plants, and sometimes in the spring as a forcing bed. Pit coal, coal dug from the earth; mineral coal. Pit frame, the framework over the shaft of a coal mine. Pit head, the surface of the ground at the mouth of a pit or mine. Pit kiln, an oven for coking coal. Pit martin (Zo["o]l.), the bank swallow. [Prov. Eng.] Pit of the stomach (Anat.), the depression on the middle line of the epigastric region of the abdomen at the lower end of the sternum; the infrasternal depression. Pit saw (Mech.), a saw worked by two men, one of whom stands on the log and the other beneath it. The place of the latter is often in a pit, whence the name. Pit viper (Zo["o]l.), any viperine snake having a deep pit on each side of the snout. The rattlesnake and copperhead are examples. Working pit (Min.), a shaft in which the ore is hoisted and the workmen carried; -- in distinction from a shaft used for the pumps.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pit Pit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pitting.] 1. To place or put into a pit or hole. They lived like beasts, and were pitted like beasts, tumbled into the grave. --T. Grander. 2. To mark with little hollows, as by various pustules; as, a face pitted by smallpox. 3. To introduce as an antagonist; to set forward for or in a contest; as, to pit one dog against another.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(pits, pitting, pitted) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A pit is a coal mine. It was a better community then when all the pits were working. N-COUNT 2. A pit is a large hole that is dug in the ground. Eric lost his footing and began to slide into the pit. N-COUNT 3. A gravel pit or clay pit is a very large hole that is left where gravel or clay has been dug from the ground. This area of former farmland was worked as a gravel pit until 1964. N-COUNT: supp N 4. If two opposing things or people are pitted against one another, they are in conflict. You will be pitted against people who are every bit as good as you are... This was one man pitted against the universe. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed against n, V-ed 5. In motor racing, the pits are the areas at the side of the track where drivers stop to get more fuel and to repair their cars during races. N-PLURAL: usu pl see also pit stop 6. If you describe something as the pits, you mean that it is extremely bad. (SPOKEN) Mary Ann asked him how dinner had been. 'The pits,' he replied. N-PLURAL: the N 7. A pit is the stone of a fruit or vegetable. (AM) N-COUNT 8. see also pitted, fleapit, orchestra pit, sandpit 9. If you pit your wits against someone, you compete with them in a test of knowledge or intelligence. I'd like to pit my wits against the best. PHRASE: V inflects 10. If you have a feeling in the pit of your stomach, you have a tight or sick feeling in your stomach, usually because you are afraid or anxious. I had a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. PHRASE 11. a bottomless pit: see bottomless

Easton's Bible Dictionary

a hole in the ground (Ex. 21:33, 34), a cistern for water (Gen. 37:24; Jer. 14:3), a vault (41:9), a grave (Ps. 30:3). It is used as a figure for mischief (Ps. 9:15), and is the name given to the unseen place of woe (Rev. 20:1, 3). The slime-pits in the vale of Siddim were wells which yielded asphalt (Gen. 14:10).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

The word translates different Hebrew words of which the most important are:

(1) bor, "pit" or "cistern," made by digging, (Ge 37:20); hence, "dungeon" (Jer 38:6, margin "pit");

(2) be'er, "pit" or "well" made by digging (Ge 21:25);

(3) she'ol, generally rendered "hell" in the King James Version (see HELL);

(4) shachath, a pit in the ground to catch wild animals. (1), (2) and (4) above are used metaphorically of the pit of the "grave" or of "sheol" (Ps 28:1; 30:3; Job 33:24). the King James Version sometimes incorrectly renders (4) by "corruption."

(5) pachath, "pit," literally (2Sa 17:9), and figuratively (Jer 48:43).

In the New Testament "pit" renders bothunos (Mt 15:14), which means any kind of hole in the ground. In the corresponding passage Lu (14:5 the King James Version) has phrear, "well," the same as (2) above. For "bottomless pit" (Re 9:1, the King James Version, etc.).

See ABYSS.

T. Lewis

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Cavity, hollow. 2. Indentation, dent, dint, depression, dimple. 3. Excavation, hole, cavity, hollow, well. 4. Coal-mine, coal-pit. 5. Vat. 6. Gulf, abyss. 7. [With The prefixed.] Hell, pandemonium, bottomless pit. 8. [With The prefixed.] Grave, death. 9. Snare, trap, pitfall. 10. Parquet, parterre.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A watch fob. He drew a rare thimble from the swell's pit. He took a handsome watch from the gentleman's fob.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To lay pit and boxes into one; an operation in midwifery or copulation, whereby the division between the anus and vagina is cut through, broken, and demolished: a simile borrowed from the playhouse, when, for the benefit of some favourite player, the pit and boxes are laid together. The pit is also the hole under the gallows, where poor rogues unable to pay the fees are buried.

Airports

Landing Facility Type	AIRPORT
Airport Code	PIT
EFF_DATE	02/16/2006
FAA Region	AEA
FAA District	HAR
State	PA
State	PENNSYLVANIA
County	ALLEGHENY
County State	PA
City Name	PITTSBURGH
Full Name	PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL
Owner Type	PU
Facility Use	PU
Facility City, State, Zip	"PITTSBURGH, PA 15231-0370"
Elevation	1204
Aeronautical chart on which the airport facility appears	DETROIT
Distance from the central business district of the associated city to the airport in nautical miles	12
Direction of airport from the central business district of the associated city	NW
Airport Certification Type and Date	I DS 05/1973
NASP/Federal Agreement Code	NGHY3
Customs international airport	N
Customs Landing Rights Airport	Y
Joint Use	Y
Military Landing Rights	Y
Control Tower	Y
Based Multi-engine general aviation aircraft	004
Based Jet engine general aviation aircraft	012
Based Military Aircraft	022
Commercial Services	082146
Air Taxi	162800
General Aviation - Itinerant Operations	014267
Military Aircraft Operations	009207
Latitude	40.4914658333
Longitude	-80.2328708333
State FIPS code	42
State Postal Code	PA
Total domestic enplanements (inbound plus outbound)	6606117
Version	09

Moby Thesaurus

American Stock Exchange, Amex, L, R, Wall Street, abysm, abyss, acorn, acting area, agora, alveolation, alveolus, amphitheater, antrum, apron, apron stage, arena, armpit, athletic field, audience, auditorium, auditory, background, backstage, balcony, band shell, bandstand, bank, barrow, basin, bear garden, beehive tomb, berry, bird seed, birthmark, blackhead, bleb, blemish, blister, board, bone house, bourse, bowl, box, box grave, box seat, boxing ring, bridge, bull ring, bulla, burial, burial chamber, burial mound, campus, canvas, catacombs, cavity, cenotaph, charnel house, chasm, check, cicatrix, circus, cist, cist grave, coal mine, cockpit, coliseum, colliery, colosseum, comedo, commodity exchange, concave, concavity, congregation, corn pit, coulisse, counter, course, crack, crater, craze, crevasse, cromlech, crypt, cup, curb, curb exchange, curb market, deep, deep six, defacement, defect, deformation, deformity, dent, depress, depression, depth, dig, diggings, dimple, dint, dip, disfiguration, disfigurement, distortion, dock, dokhma, dolmen, dress circle, dressing room, engrave, excavation, exchange, exchange floor, fault, fauteuil, feel, field, finish, flaw, flaxseed, flies, floor, fly floor, fly gallery, fold, follicle, forestage, forum, freckle, fruit, funnel chest, furrow, gallery, gold mine, gouge, grain, granular texture, grave, greenroom, grid, gridiron, ground, groundling, gulf, gym, gymnasium, hall, hayseed, hemangioma, hickey, hippodrome, hole, hollow, hollow shell, honeycomb, house, house of death, impress, impression, imprint, indent, indentation, indention, indenture, keloid, kernel, kink, knub, lacuna, last home, lentigo, lightboard, linseed, lists, locale, loge, long home, low green tent, low house, marketplace, mastaba, mat, match, mausoleum, milieu, milium, mine, mole, monstrance, mummy chamber, nap, narrow house, needle scar, nevus, nigger heaven, notch, nub, nut, open cut, open forum, opencast, orchestra, orchestra circle, orchestra pit, ossuarium, ossuary, outside market, over-the-counter market, palaestra, parade ground, paradise, parquet, parquet circle, parterre, passage grave, peanut gallery, performing area, pile, pimple, pip, place, platform, pock, pocket, pockmark, port-wine mark, port-wine stain, precinct, press in, print, prize ring, proscenium, proscenium boxes, proscenium stage, protuberance, public square, punch, punch bowl, punch in, purlieu, pustule, pyramid, quarry, quotation board, range, recess, reliquary, resting place, rift, ring, scab, scar, scene, scene of action, scenery, scoop, scratch, sebaceous cyst, seed, sepulcher, set back, set in, setting, shaft, shaft grave, shag, shell, shrine, sink, sinus, site, socket, spectator, sphere, split, squared circle, stadium, stage, stage left, stage right, stage set, stage setting, stall, stamp, standing room, stock exchange, stock market, stock ticker, stone, strawberry mark, structure, stupa, sty, sunken part, surface, surface texture, switchboard, tamp, telephone market, terrain, texture, the Big Board, the Exchange, the boards, theater, theatre stall, third market, ticker, ticker tape, tilting ground, tiltyard, tomb, tope, tower of silence, track, trough, tumulus, twist, vault, verruca, vesicle, vie, vug, wale, walk, warp, wart, weal, weave, well, welt, wen, wheat pit, whitehead, wings, woof, workings, wrestling ring, yawning abyss