jit

noun

a young person, kid

What does jit mean?

Jit is used synonymously with kid to refer broadly to a young person, and sometimes specifically to a young person who is new to something or otherwise inexperienced (think rookie).

Examples of jit

Cuz who was this jit 😭
—@Ordinary-Two2283, Reddit (r/mylittlepony), 15 Mar. 2025

These younger generations lingo crazy … jit called another jit a burger and wanted to fight.
—@SahDaPoet, X (formerly Twitter), 23 May 2025

THIS JIT IS PUTTING GAINEVILLE ON THE MAP! Y’ALL SEE THE POTENTIAL??
—@954fastpitchtv, Instagram, 15 Mar. 2025

Where does jit come from?

Online use of jit dates back to the early 2000s, though the term, which originated in African American English (specifically, by many accounts, in Florida), is much older.

… a 23-year-old Tampa man with brown eyes, smooth brown skin and short dark hair that he trims himself in what he calls “a regulation cut,” is still young enough that he gets called a jit, too.
—Thomas French, The St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, 4 Aug. 1993

She recognized the driver of the car. She knew him as Junior, or Jit, short for Jitterbug.
—Gordon Edes, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 11 Dec. 1994

... said he was glad the concert appealed to the middle aged, and said there weren’t a lot of “jits,” or jitterbugs, his term for people younger than 30.
—Jeff Barker, The Northwest Florida Daily News, 28 June 2010

Its rising popularity outside of Florida may be due in part to its use in song lyrics, such as those of YNW Melly, Smokepurpp, Kodak Black, and other Florida rappers.

How is jit used?

Jit often has a neutral connotation, but in some contexts it can have a slightly negative edge, implying that the young person in question is unwise, impertinent, or otherwise acting in a way that they shouldn’t.