Definition

1. Noun:

   • A large hole in the ground: A pit is a sizeable hole or cavity, especially one that is dug or naturally formed in the earth.
   • A sunken or hollow area: A pit can be a natural or man-made depression or concavity in a surface.
   • An enclosed area for fighting: Historically, a pit is an enclosure where animals (like dogs or cocks) are made to fight.
   • The area beside a racetrack: In motor racing, the pit is the area where cars are serviced, refueled, and repaired during a race.
   • The seating area in a theater: In a theater, the pit is the lowered area in front of the stage, often where the orchestra sits.
   • A mine or quarry: A pit can refer to a place where materials like coal, stone, or slate are extracted from the earth.
   • (Often "the pit") Hell or a place of evil: In religious or literary contexts, "the pit" can symbolize hell or a place of damnation and suffering.

2. Verb:

   • To set into opposition or rivalry: To pit one person or group against another is to set them in competition or conflict.
   • To mark with small hollows or scars: To pit a surface is to mark it with small indentations or scars, often as a result of disease or damage.
   • To remove the stone from a fruit: To pit a fruit is to remove its hard inner seed or stone.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • They dug a deep pit to bury the treasure.
  • The surface of the moon is covered with craters and pits.
  • The mechanic rushed the car into the pit for a tire change.
  • The orchestra sat in the pit below the stage.
  • He worked in a coal pit for twenty years.
  • The preacher warned of sinners being cast into the fiery pit.

• Verb:

  • The tournament will pit the national champion against the top international players.
  • His face was pitted with scars from a childhood illness.
  • Remember to pit the cherries before adding them to the pie.

Advanced Usage

• "to be the pits" (idiom, informal): to be very bad, unpleasant, or of the worst quality.
  • This weather is the pits; it's been raining for a week straight.
• "pit stop": a brief stop during a journey, especially in motor racing, for refueling or repairs; by extension, any quick stop.
  • Let's make a pit stop for coffee before we continue driving.

Variants and Related Words

• Pitfall (n): A hidden or unsuspected danger or difficulty. (e.g., )
• Pitted (adj): Marked with small hollows or indentations. (e.g., )
• Armpit (n): The hollow under the arm at the shoulder.
• Pit bull (n): A type of dog.

Synonyms

• Noun (hole): Hole, cavity, crater, hollow, excavation.
• Noun (mine): Mine, quarry, excavation.
• Verb (oppose): Match, oppose, set against, rival.
• Verb (mark): Scar, mark, indent.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Pit against: To set someone or something in competition or conflict with another.
  • The movie pits good against evil in an epic battle.
• Pit out (rare, specific to racing): To exit the pit area and return to the racetrack.
  • The leader pitted out just ahead of his rival.

Related Idioms

• A bottomless pit: Something that seems to have no limit, especially in consuming resources.
  • Funding this project is like pouring money into a bottomless pit.
• Pit of one's stomach: Refers to the area in the upper abdomen, often associated with feelings of anxiety or dread.
  • A feeling of dread settled in the pit of my stomach.

Noun

1. a workplace consisting of a coal mine plus all the buildings and equipment connected with it
2. lowered area in front of a stage where an orchestra accompanies the performers
3. a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate
   • a British term for `quarry' is `stone pit'
4. a trap in the form of a concealed hole
5. (auto racing) an area at the side of a racetrack where the race cars are serviced and refueled
6. (commodity exchange) the part of the floor of a commodity exchange where trading in a particular commodity is carried on
7. an enclosure in which animals are made to fight
8. (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
9. 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
10. a concavity in a surface (especially an anatomical depression)
11. a sizeable hole (usually in the ground)
    • they dug a pit to bury the body

Verb

1. remove the pits from
   • pit plums and cherries
2. mark with a scar
   • The skin disease scarred his face permanently
3. 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