I. ˈfit, usu -id.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English fitt; akin to Old Saxon fittea division of a poem, text, Old High German fizza skein, yarn, Old Norse fit web (of an animal's foot), and perhaps to Old English fōt foot — more at foot
1. archaic : a division of a poem or song : a canto or a similar division
2. obsolete : a strain of music
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English fitt strife, conflict
1. obsolete : a painful, dangerous, exciting, or mortal crisis or experience
2.
a. archaic : a spell or bout of illness or of some specified disease
b. : a stroke of some disease (as epilepsy or apoplexy) that produces convulsions or unconsciousness : seizure , paroxysm
he was seized with a fit which was repeated about every two hours until his death — D.D.Martin
c. : a sudden, severe, but transient attack of any physical disturbance
fits of shivering that weaken knees and set teeth to chattering — Kenneth Roberts
3. : a sudden often unaccountable burst or flurry (as of activity or emotion) : a brief period : spell , mood , impulse
a fit of jealousy
a fit of idleness
there is much praise or ridicule, as the fit takes the onlookers — C.P.Conigrave
something that grandpa threw together in a fit of tinkering — Car Life
he may have fits of deep depression following fits of anger — H.A.Overstreet
went off into a quiet fit of laughter — M.V.Reidy
4. : an outburst of anger, chagrin, or intense excitement
she simply had a fit when she learned what had happened
•
- by fits
III. adjective
( fitter ; fittest )
Etymology: Middle English; akin to Middle English fitten to be suitable for
1.
a. : adapted to an end, object, or design : suitable by nature or by art : suited , qualified , appropriate
found him a fit officer and gentleman — Time
soft water fit for manufacturing is restricted to the central part of the district
specifically : so adapted to the environment as to be capable of surviving — often used in the phrase the survival of the fittest
b. : becoming from the viewpoint of propriety, convenience, or morality : seemly , proper , meet , prudent , expedient
pictures … not fit for young people to see — D.M.Davin
it is not fit for us to inquire into sacred things
he gave credit where he thought fit — Adrian Bell
one can wish that the editors had seen fit to include a few more illustrations — Stuart Preston
2.
a. obsolete : made to fit : of the right dimensions : close-fitting
b. : made or put in a suitable condition : ready , prepared
corn … must be passed through a grain drier before it is fit to store — F.D.Smith & Barbara Wilcox
the work of getting the ship fit for sea — Nevil Shute
c. : so affected as to be ready to do or suffer something : disposed
fair fit to cry I was — Bryan MacMahon
shivering and shaking fit to die with cold — Time
3. : sound physically and mentally : qualified from the viewpoint of health : healthy
he keeps fit by playing tennis and squash — Current Biography
you aren't fit to get breakfast — Ellen Glasgow
if you are young, fit , and keen you can be 107 an officer in the Royal Air Force — Punch
the best prescription for a fit old age is a bad illness in middle life — John Buchan
Synonyms:
suitable , meet , proper , appropriate , fitting , apt , happy , felicitous : fit suggests being adapted or adaptable to an end in view, situation, or occasion, sometimes an especial readiness for use
a wooden image, movable and fit to be carried in procession — George Santayana
the magnificent hall which seemed only a fit setting for her beauty — Nathaniel Hawthorne
a ship fit for service
suitable applies to whatever answers demands or requirements smoothly, without difficulty, doubt, or objection
the plain walls of the interior provide a suitable foil for the decorative color and woodwork — American Guide Series: Minnesota
large tracts of land suitable for vineyards — Robert Hichens
because of its proscribed theme, the play was not considered suitable movie material — Current Biography
after a suitable interval, not to seem importunate — Mary Austin
meet describes what is nicely adapted or rightly or justly applicable; it may be somewhat stronger and more complimentary than suitable
now that death has shut the door behind Kipling, leaving his completed work here with us, ready for the passionless estimate of posterity, it is meet for critics to weigh that work in their delicate scale — Katharine F. Gerould
Sabbath was made a solemn day, meet only for preaching, praying, and Bible reading — C.A. & Mary Beard
is it meet that an utter stranger should thus express himself? — W.S.Gilbert
proper may suggest a fitness by nature or by right reason, good judgment, or social sanction
water, the proper element for fish
a few Yankees of the swindling kind who found their proper sphere in the peddling business — Van Wyck Brooks
when a child has mastered a difficulty after persistent efforts, praise is a proper reward — Bertrand Russell
the education proper to a hero — Encyc. Americana
appropriate may suggest distinctive, peculiar, or distinguishing fitness
the magician does not doubt that … the performance of the proper ceremony, accompanied by the appropriate spell, will inevitably be attended by the desired results — J.G.Frazier
we have agreed that our writing should be apppropriate: that it should fit the occasion — A.T.Quiller-Couch
fitting may suggest an especial harmony or congruousness
the fitting expression for the deeds they do — G.W.Russell
a fitting occasion to reassess the validity of the mechanical conception of the universe of which he was unwittingly the prime author — Times Literary Supplement
apt connotes a fitness marked by nicety and discrimination
had shown that essential objectives could be gained by an apt combination of blackmail and negotiation — Times Literary Supplement
the apt and telling turns of expression, the phrases of homely vigor or happy pregnancy which have become a part of our linguistic stock in trade — J.L.Lowes
what time so apt for inculcating obedience and other Christian virtues as this solemn hour — H.O.Taylor
happy applies to whatever is quite successfully, effectively, or pleasingly fit
our ideal should be to make our battle a series of single combats, our ranks a happy alliance of agile commanders-in-chief — T.E.Lawrence
of all writers he perhaps best combines in his style a felicitous elegance with a happy vernacular, the grace of philosophers and wits and the wit of the people — Carl Van Doren
felicitous suggests the opportunely or strikingly happy
had a way of illuminating an array of factual data with felicitous theoretical insights — D.G.Mandelbaum
some of the most felicitous turns of thought and phrase in poetry are the result of a flash of inspiration — J.L.Lowes
•
- fit to be tied
- fit to kill
IV. adverb
Etymology: Middle English, from fit, adjective
archaic : fitly
V. verb
( fitted or fit ; fitted or fit ; fitting ; fits )
Etymology: Middle English fitten, from or akin to Middle Dutch vitten to be suitable; akin to Old Norse fitja to knit, Old High German fizzōn to surround, fizza skein, yarn — more at fit I
transitive verb
1.
a.
(1) : to be suitable for or to : answer the requirements of : harmonize with : befit , suit
for all that it is a good constitution — a constitution that fits us — Elmer Davis
these fashions fit the life of the sport car, the penthouse, modern furniture — Women's Wear Daily
find … a gun that fitted you perfectly — Bob Nichols
in appearance he fitted his job to perfection — S.H.Adams
no program of work will fit every community — Beatrice S. Rossell
the name fit him to perfection — Deerfield (Wis.) Republican
(2) archaic : to be seemly or proper for : become from the viewpoint of propriety, convenience, or morality — often used with impersonal it as subject
it fits us then to be as provident as fear may teach us — Shakespeare
b.
(1) : to be correctly adjusted to or shaped for : conform to the contours of
the coat fits him beautifully
the key fits the lock
I had grown tall enough to fit my coffin — Sacheverell Sitwell
(2) : to insert, apply, or adjust until snugly or correctly in place : cause to conform to the outlines or contours of a receptacle
students are taught to fit braces of different types
fit a stopper into a bottle
(3) : to make a place or room for (as by adjusting, maneuvering) : accommodate
he was fitting many concert appearances into a crowded schedule — Current Biography
always came in as though he … was fitting you in at great inconvenience — Fred Majdalany
fit three or four men into a single turret — Tom Wintringham
most of his library had been fitted in here — Lucien Price
c. : to be in agreement with or accord with
this theory fits all the known facts
does not quite fit the assumption that the sole cause of the business slowdown is an attempt to cut inventories — George Shea
2.
a. : to make fit or suitable : adapt to the purpose intended : put into a condition of readiness : prepare , qualify
a comfortable stall was fitted for the horse — Irish Digest
each ant is fitted to his place in the community by a combination of structural specialization and instincts — Ralph Linton
vigorous training fits men for the ordeals of battle
his temperament fitted him to understand an age of courageous exploits — Van Wyck Brooks
b. : to prepare for college
he was fitted for college by his own father
c. : to till (land) in preparation for planting
came up with the team and drag from the field … where he had been fitting the bean ground — Gordon Webber
d.
(1) : to bring to a required form and size : shape rightly : adapt to a model : adjust
fitted the garment to the client's specifications
(2) : to cause to conform to or suit something else
you must fit the words to the music
tried to fit his spending to his income
fit your conduct to your circumstances
(3) : to determine the required specifications of something for : measure
came to the house and fitted you for handmade French lingerie — Margaret A. Barnes
fitted me for glasses
: determine the fit of a garment on
fitted her with the dress and found that it needed alterations
(4) : to supply with something that is shaped, adjusted, or designed for the use required : provide , equip
fitted the ship with new engines
its many and diversified laboratories are fitted with the latest in equipment — Investor's Reader
(5) : to finish (animals) for the show ring ; also : to dress and prepare (animals) for showing
(6) : to subject (newly formed soap) before settling to a process of boiling with steam or water and additional alkali as needed until the desired texture is attained
(7) : to adjust (a smooth curve of specified type) to a given set of points in such a way as to minimize the sum of the squares of the distances measured parallel to the axis of ordinates from the given points to the curve
(8) : to design (a character in a font) so that the apparent distance to any close-set adjacent character will be as nearly uniform as the shape of the individual characters allows
(9) of a hand or suit in bridge : to contain cards that increase the trick-winning capacity of (a partner's hand)
intransitive verb
1. archaic : to be seemly, proper, or suitable
2.
a. : to become adjusted to a particular shape or size : conform in contour when applied or assumed
his coat fits beautifully
b. : to be in harmony or accord : make the proper adjustment : meet the needs : become suited : coincide , agree , conform , belong , adjust
a conservative in a semiliberal setting … doesn't seem to fit — Kiplinger Washington Letter
I'm glad that your new secretary seems likely to fit — H.J.Laski
none of the familiar labels … seems to fit quite so well — J.W.Krutch
— often used with in, into, or with
where does the wife fit into all this — W.H.Whyte
his somber pessimism fitted in with her own mood
many of them have been able to fit into the white man's life without giving up the ancient ways — H.A.Overstreet
we should have to determine where you would fit in — C.B.Kelland
employers were likely to select … those … who would fit easily and docilely with the rest of the workers — Oscar Handlin
c. of the hands of two partners : to constitute a fit (sense 4)
3. : to prepare for college especially by attending a college-preparatory school
Synonyms: see prepare
VI. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the quality or state of being fitted or adapted : the manner in which or the degree to which something fits or conforms to some standard : agreement , accord , adjustment
yearning for the good old days and the job and the comfortable fit of old ways — Dixon Wecter
a qualitative verbal assessment of the degree of fit between the interpretations — American Anthropologist
I believe the average American's notions about the average Briton are at least as bad a fit — Richard Joseph
b. : the manner in which clothing fits a wearer
advising me about the fit of my corsets — Mary Austin
the fit of the dress is snug
American man-produced fashions are the envy of all Europe because of their crisp styling and fit — Wall Street Journal
c. : the degree of closeness with which surfaces are brought together in an assembly of parts (as a shaft in a hole or a nut on a screw)
d. : the conformity of a set of statistical observations to a corresponding set of values or of a curve that represents observations to a corresponding curve that serves as a standard
2. : a piece of clothing that fits
the gown was an excellent fit
3. : the texture attained in fitting soap — called also finish
a close (soft) fit is used on large kettles — G.W.Busby
4. : such distribution of cards in the two hands of a bridge partnership that each can help the other to win tricks in every or nearly every suit
VII.
Scotland
variant of foot
VIII.
dialect
past of fight