| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024wit1 /wɪt/USA pronunciation n. - [uncountable] keen intelligence;
astuteness. - quickness;
cleverness:[uncountable]He lacked the wit to respond in time. - [countable] a person having or noted for being amusingly clever.
- Usually, wits. [plural]
- the ability to think quickly and clearly;
resourcefulness;
ingenuity:In a crisis he's able to keep his wits about him. - mental faculties;
senses:scared out of her wits.
Idioms- Idioms at one's wit's or wits' end, drained or empty of all ideas or mental resources.
wit2 /wɪt/USA pronunciation v., wist /wɪst/USA pronunciation wit•ting. Idioms- Idioms to wit, [no object] that is to say;
namely:spoke several languages, to wit, English, French, Spanish, German, and Japanese.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024wit1 (wit),USA pronunciation n. - the keen perception and cleverly apt expression of those connections between ideas that awaken amusement and pleasure.
- speech or writing showing such perception and expression.
- a person having or noted for such perception and expression.
- understanding, intelligence, or sagacity;
astuteness. - Usually, wits.
- powers of intelligent observation, keen perception, ingenious contrivance, or the like;
mental acuity, composure, and resourcefulness:using one's wits to get ahead. - mental faculties;
senses:to lose one's wits.
- at one's wit's end. See end 1 (def. 23).
- keep or have one's wits about one, to remain alert and observant;
be prepared for or equal to anything:to keep your wits about you in a crisis. - live by one's wits, to provide for oneself by employing ingenuity or cunning;
live precariously:We traveled around the world, living by our wits.
- bef. 900; Middle English, Old English: mind, thought; cognate with German Witz, Old Norse vit; akin to wit2
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged drollery, facetiousness, waggishness, repartee. See humor.
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged wisdom, sense, mind.
wit2 (wit),USA pronunciation v.t., v.i., [pres. sing. 1st pers.] wot, 2nd wost, 3rd wot, pres. pl. wit or wite;
past and past part. wist;
pres. part. wit•ting. - [Archaic.]to know.
- to wit, that is to say;
namely:It was the time of the vernal equinox, to wit, the beginning of spring.
- bef. 900; Middle English witen, Old English witan; cognate with Dutch weten, German wissen, Old Norse vita, Gothic witan to know; akin to Latin vidēre, Greek ideîn to see, Sanskrit vidati (he) knows. See wot
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: wit /wɪt/ n - the talent or quality of using unexpected associations between contrasting or disparate words or ideas to make a clever humorous effect
- speech or writing showing this quality
- a person possessing, showing, or noted for such an ability, esp in repartee
- practical intelligence (esp in the phrase have the wit to)
- archaic mental capacity or a person possessing it
See also witsEtymology: Old English witt; related to Old Saxon giwitt, Old High German wizzi (German Witz), Old Norse vit, Gothic witi. See wit² wit /wɪt/ vb - archaic to be or become aware of (something)
adv - to wit ⇒ that is to say; namely (used to introduce statements, as in legal documents)
Etymology: Old English witan; related to Old High German wizzan (German wissen), Old Norse vita, Latin vidēre to see |