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. 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.
[ OE pytt ult. f. L puteus well ]