pit

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈpɪt/ UK /pɪt/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like peat /ɪ/ vs /iː/ Sounds like pith /θ/ vs /t/

Freq #3341

Meanings

1

noun
A large hole in the ground.

They dug a deep pit to plant the tree.
2

noun
The area beside a racetrack where cars stop for fuel and repairs during a race.

The driver came into the pit to change his tyres.
3

noun
A place where stone or coal is dug out of the ground; a mine or quarry.

His grandfather worked in the coal pit for forty years.
4

verb
To remove the hard seed from a fruit.

You need to pit the cherries before making the pie.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a large hole in the ground. cavity

3 noun · a place where stone or coal... quarry

4 verb · to remove the hard seed... stone

Word family

Forms pitspittedpitting

Derived forms armpitashpitcatchpitcesspitchalkpitcharpitclaypitcoalpitcockpitcorn-piteye-pitfirepit

Etymology

From Dutch pit (“kernel, core”), from Middle Dutch pitte, from Proto-Germanic *pittan (compare dialectal German Pfitze (“pimple”)), oblique of Proto-Germanic *piþō. Compare pith.

pit Dutch pitte Middle Dutch *pittan Proto-Germanic *piþō Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Plants & Agriculture

External links

# pit

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /pɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 3341

## Meanings
1. A large hole in the ground.
2. The area beside a racetrack where cars stop for fuel and repairs during a race.
3. A place where stone or coal is dug out of the ground; a mine or quarry.
4. To remove the hard seed from a fruit.

## Examples
- They dug a deep pit to plant the tree.
- The driver came into the pit to change his tyres.
- His grandfather worked in the coal pit for forty years.
- You need to pit the cherries before making the pie.

## Derived Forms
- armpit
- ashpit
- catchpit
- cesspit
- chalkpit
- charpit
- claypit
- coalpit
- cockpit
- corn-pit
- eye-pit
- firepit

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pit
- Root: pitte
- Root: *pittan
- Root: *piþō

## Etymology
From Dutch pit (“kernel, core”), from Middle Dutch pitte, from Proto-Germanic *pittan (compare dialectal German Pfitze (“pimple”)), oblique of Proto-Germanic *piþō. Compare pith.

## AI Etymology
Pit comes from Dutch pit (“kernel, core”), from Middle Dutch pitte, from Proto-Germanic *pittan (compare dialectal German Pfitze (“pimple”)), oblique of Proto-Germanic *piþō. Compare pith. The historical chain includes pit (Dutch), pitte (Middle Dutch), *pittan (Proto-Germanic), *piþō (Proto-Germanic). In present-day English it covers a large hole in the ground, the area beside a racetrack where cars stop for fuel and repairs during a race, and a place where stone or coal is dug out of the ground; a mine or quarry. The wider family includes derived forms such as armpit, ashpit, catchpit, cesspit, chalkpit.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Plants & Agriculture

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pit

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