Main Entry:

¹pit

Pronunciation:

\ˈpit\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Old English pytt (akin to Old High German pfuzzi well), from Latin puteus well, pit

Date:

before 12th century

1 a (1): a hole, shaft, or cavity in the ground (2): mine (3): a scooped-out place used for burning something (as charcoal) b: an area often sunken or depressed below the adjacent floor area: as (1): an enclosure in which animals are made to fight each other (2): a space at the front of a theater for the orchestra (3): an area in a securities or commodities exchange in which members trade (as stocks) 2 a: hell 1a —used with the b: a place or situation of futility, misery, or degradation cplural : worst <it's the pits>3: a hollow or indentation esp. in the surface of an organism: as a: a natural hollow in the surface of the body b: one of the indented scars left in the skin by a pustular disease : pockmark c: a minute depression in the secondary wall of a plant cell functioning in the intercellular movement of water and dissolved material 4: any of the areas alongside an auto racecourse used for refueling and repairing the cars during a race —often used in plural with the