Definition

1. Noun:

   • A long, narrow cut or opening: A straight, thin incision or aperture, often made deliberately.
   • A narrow fissure or crack: A very thin, elongated natural opening or gap.
   • (Vulgar slang) Female genitals: An obscene term, considered offensive.

2. Verb:

   • To make a long, straight cut in something: To cut or pierce with a sharp instrument, creating a narrow opening.
   • To cut something into long, narrow strips: To divide by making a series of long cuts.
   • To sever or slash, especially a throat: To cut open with a long, deep incision.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Light shone through a narrow slit in the wall.
  • She made a small slit in the envelope with a letter opener.
• Verb:
  • Carefully slit the fabric along the marked line.
  • The machine slits the paper into precise ribbons.

Advanced Usage

• "slit one's eyes": To narrow one's eyes, often to see better or to express suspicion or concentration.
  • He slit his eyes against the bright sun.
• "slit trench": A narrow trench for military personnel.
  • The soldiers took cover in a shallow slit trench.

Variants and Related Words

• Slitter (n): A person or tool that makes slits.
• Slitty (adj): Having a narrow, slit-like shape (e.g., ).

Synonyms

• Noun: Cut, gash, incision, fissure, crack, opening.
• Verb: Cut, gash, slash, slice, rip, pierce.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "slit" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. The action is typically expressed directly.)

Related Idioms

• "slit someone's throat": To kill someone by cutting their throat.
  • (Figurative) The new competition could slit the throat of our business.
• "slit one's wrists": To attempt suicide by cutting one's wrists. (A serious, literal phrase often used in grim contexts).

Noun

1. a narrow fissure
2. a depression scratched or carved into a surface
3. obscene terms for female genitals
4. a long narrow opening

Verb

1. cut a slit into
   • slit the throat of the victim
2. make a clean cut through
   • slit her throat