wit

noun

/wɪt/

Word Family

wit noun
witty adjective
witticism noun
outwit verb

Idioms

jump to other results

[uncountable, singular] the ability to say or write things that are both clever and humorous
- to have a quick/sharp/dry/ready wit
- a woman of wit and intelligence
- a book full of the wit and wisdom of his 30 years in politics
Extra Examples
- He had a dry wit.
- He has plenty of wit and imagination.
- He was blessed with great charm and a quick wit.
- I wanted to bowl him over with my sparkling wit.
- She had to use all her native wit to convince the police.
Topics Personal qualitiesc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- great
- quick
- ready
- …
verb + wit
- have
phrases
- wit and wisdom
See full entry
[countable] a person who has the ability to say or write things that are both clever and humorous
- a well-known wit and raconteur
Topics Personal qualitiesc2
wits
[plural] your ability to think quickly and clearly and to make good decisions
- He needed all his wits to find his way out.
- The game was a long battle of wits.
- Kate paused and gathered her wits.
- a chance to pit your wits against (= compete with, using your intelligence) our quiz champion
Extra Examples
- She couldn't seem to gather her wits and tell us what had happened.
- The game allows you to match wits with a computer criminal.
- The strike developed into a battle of wits between management and workers.
- Living alone in the country had dulled his wits.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verb + wits
- use
- have
- gather
- …
phrases
- a battle of wits
- have your wits about you
- keep your wits about you
- …
See full entry
-witted
(in adjectives) having the type of intelligence mentioned
- a quick-witted group of students
[uncountable] wit to do something the intelligence or good sense to know what is the right thing to do
- At least you had the wit to ask for help.
- It should not be beyond the wit of man to resolve this dispute.
Extra Examples
- I hope he has the wit to take the key with him.
- I hope you had the wits to apologize.
- You'd think they'd have the wit to ask for help.
- It shouldn't be beyond the wit of man to solve this issue.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- native
verb + wit
- have
- use
phrases
- beyond the wit of man
See full entry

单词	wit
释义	wit noun /wɪt/ /wɪt/ Word Family wit noun witty adjective witticism noun outwit verb Idioms jump to other results [uncountable, singular] the ability to say or write things that are both clever and humorous to have a quick/sharp/dry/ready wit a woman of wit and intelligence a book full of the wit and wisdom of his 30 years in politics Extra Examples He had a dry wit. He has plenty of wit and imagination. He was blessed with great charm and a quick wit. I wanted to bowl him over with my sparkling wit. She had to use all her native wit to convince the police. Topics Personal qualitiesc1 Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective great quick ready … verb + wit have phrases wit and wisdom See full entry [countable] a person who has the ability to say or write things that are both clever and humorous a well-known wit and raconteur Topics Personal qualitiesc2 wits [plural] your ability to think quickly and clearly and to make good decisions He needed all his wits to find his way out. The game was a long battle of wits. Kate paused and gathered her wits. a chance to pit your wits against (= compete with, using your intelligence) our quiz champion Extra Examples She couldn't seem to gather her wits and tell us what had happened. The game allows you to match wits with a computer criminal. The strike developed into a battle of wits between management and workers. Living alone in the country had dulled his wits. Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + wits use have gather … phrases a battle of wits have your wits about you keep your wits about you … See full entry -witted (in adjectives) having the type of intelligence mentioned a quick-witted group of students [uncountable] wit to do something the intelligence or good sense to know what is the right thing to do At least you had the wit to ask for help. It should not be beyond the wit of man to resolve this dispute. Extra Examples I hope he has the wit to take the key with him. I hope you had the wits to apologize. You'd think they'd have the wit to ask for help. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of man to solve this issue. Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective native verb + wit have use phrases beyond the wit of man See full entry see also witless Word OriginOld English wit(t), gewit(t), denoting the mind as the seat of consciousness, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch weet and German Witz, also to wit in the archaic sense ‘have knowledge’. Idioms be at your wits’ end (informal) to be so worried by a problem that you do not know what to do next She was at her wits’ end wondering how she’d manage it all in the time. I'm at my wits' end trying to cope with his moods. Topics Feelingsc2 be frightened/scared/terrified out of your wits (also to frighten/scare the wits out of somebody) to be very frightened; to frighten somebody very much I was scared out of my wits! The latest news has scared the wits out of investors. have/keep your wits about you to be aware of what is happening around you and ready to think and act quickly They do tough interviews so you'll need to have your wits about you. live by your wits to earn money by clever or sometimes dishonest means to wit (old-fashioned, formal) you use to wit when you are about to be more exact about something that you have just referred to Pilot error, to wit failure to follow procedures, was the cause of the accident.
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