pit stop

noun

1

: a stop at the pits during an automobile race

2

a(1)

: a stop (as during a trip) for fuel, food, or rest or for use of a restroom

(2)

: a temporary deviation from a direct or usual course

… a career pit stop … where he worked temporarily in between TV jobs …

—Mark Lorando

b(1)

: a place where a pit stop is or can be made

(2)

: an establishment providing food or drink

Examples of pit stop in a Sentence

We made a pit stop for some food before getting back on the highway.

This little town is an ideal pit stop between the two cities.

Recent Examples on the Web

Drone technology is being credited with helping find a lost dog that escaped from a car during a pit stop last weekend on the New Jersey Turnpike and traveled more than 20 miles. —Nick Caloway, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026

The entire process is akin to a rapid Formula 1 pit stop but for enormous mining vehicles. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 4 Jan. 2026

Dangling over the waves, the destination restaurant served as a see-and-be-seen pit stop along PCH for 40 years. —Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025

Baker Mayfield found a place in Florida after being drafted by the Cleveland Browns and taking pit stops with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams. —Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 31 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pit stop

• atop
• backdrop
• backstop
• bebop
• blacktop
• bookshop
• clatsop
• desktop
• eavesdrop
• estop
• hardtop
• hilltop

Kids Definition

pit stop

noun

1

: a stop at the pits during an automobile race

2

a

: a stop (as during a trip) for fuel, food, or rest or for use of a restroom

b

: a place where a pit stop is or can be made