I. ˈpit 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 pit s
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
( pit·ted ; pit·ting )
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
( pit·ted ; pit·ting )
Date: 1906
: to remove the pit from (a fruit)