Pit
WordNet
noun
(1) A workplace consisting of a coal mine plus all the buildings and equipment connected with it
(2) Lowered area in front of a stage where an orchestra accompanies the performers
(3) A surface excavation for extracting stone or slate
"A British term for `quarry' is `stone pit'"
(4) A trap in the form of a concealed hole
(5) (Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment
"Hurl'd headlong...To bottomless perdition, there to dwell"- John Milton
"A demon from the depths of the pit"
(6) A sizeable hole (usually in the ground)
"They dug a pit to bury the body"
(7) The hard inner (usually woody) layer of the pericarp of some fruits (as peaches or plums or cherries or olives) that contains the seed
"You should remove the stones from prunes before cooking"
(8) A concavity in a surface (especially an anatomical depression)
verb
(9) Remove the pits from
"Pit plums and cherries"
(10) Set into opposition or rivalry
"Let them match their best athletes against ours"
"Pit a chess player against the Russian champion"
"He plays his two children off against each other"
(11) Mark with a scar
"The skin disease scarred his face permanently"
WiktionaryText
Noun
- A hole in the ground.
- A seed inside a fruit; a stone or pip (Eng.) inside a fruit.
- A shell in a drupe containing a seed.
- Area at the auto racetrack used for refueling and repairing the cars during a race
- A section of the marching band containing mallet percussion instruments and other large percussion instruments too large to march, such as the tam tam. Also, the area on the sidelines where these instruments are placed.
- A mine.
- A hole or trench in the ground, excavated according to grid coordinates, so that the provenance of any feature observed and any specimen or artifact revealed may be established by precise measurement.
- A trading pit.
Verb
- To bring into opposition, as in "to pit one's wits against someone".
- To make pits in.
- Exposure to acid rain pitted the metal.
- To remove the stone from a stone fruit or the shell from a drupe.
- One must pit a peach to make it ready for a pie.
- To return to the pits during a race for refuelling, tyre changes, repairs etc.
Etymology
Latin pectus. Compare Italian petto, Portuguese peito, Romanian piept, Spanish pecho