释义 |
pit1 /pit/ noun- A hole in the earth
- A mine shaft
- A mine, esp a coalmine
- A place from where minerals are dug
- A prison, esp a castle prison entered from above (archaic)
- A cavity in the ground or in a floor for any purpose, such as the reception of ashes or the inspection of the underside of motor cars, etc
- A place beside the track where cars in a race can be refuelled and repaired
- A hole for storing root-crops
- A covered heap of potatoes, etc
- A grave, esp one for many bodies
- Hell, or its lowest depths
- A hole used as a trap for wild animals
- An enclosure in which animals are kept in captivity (esp bears)
- An enclosure for cockfights or the like
- Orig the ground floor of a theatre, or its occupants, or the part of the ground floor behind the stalls, now usu the area in front of the stage reserved for the orchestra in a theatre (also orchestra pit)
- A bed (informal)
- A very dirty or untidy place (slang)
- Part of a corn-exchange floor assigned to some particular business, now esp a securities or commodities trading floor (US)
- A noisy card game mimicking a US corn exchange
- Any hollow or depression, eg the pit of the stomach below the breastbone
- An indentation left by smallpox
- A minute depression in a surface
- A hollow made by a raindrop
- A thin place in a cell wall, affording communication with another cell (botany)
transitive verb (pittˈing; pittˈed)- To mark with little hollows
- To put into a pit
- To set (eg cocks in a cockpit)
- To match (with against)
intransitive verb- To become marked with pits
- To make a pit stop
- To retain an impression for a time after pressing (medicine)
ORIGIN: OE pytt, from L puteus a well pittˈed adjective Marked with small pits pittˈing noun pittˈite noun (old) Someone who frequents the pit of a theatre pit brow noun (mining) The top of a shaft pit bull or pit bull terrier noun A large breed of bull terrier developed orig for dogfighting pitˈ-coal noun Coal in the ordinary sense, not charcoal pitˈ-dwelling noun A primitive home made by roofing over a pit pitˈfall noun - A lightly covered hole as a trap
- A hidden danger or unsuspected difficulty (figurative)
pitˈhead noun (mining) The ground at the mouth of a pit, and the machinery, etc, on it pitˈman noun - A man who works in a coalpit or a sawpit, esp at sinking, repair, and inspection of shafts and at pumping in a mine
- A rod connecting a rotary with a reciprocating part (US)
pit pony noun A pony employed for haulage in a coalmine pitˈprop noun A (usu timber) support in the workings of a coalmine pitˈ-saw noun A saw used in a sawpit pitˈ-sawˈyer noun A bottom-sawyer pit stop noun A stop a racing-car makes during a motor race when it goes into the pits for repairs or refuelling pit village noun - A group of miners' houses near a pit
- A cluster of pit-dwellings
pit viper noun Any member of an American group of snakes, including the rattlesnake, able to detect prey in the dark by means of a pit sensitive to body heat, located between eye and nose pit and gallows A feudal baron's right to drown female and hang male felons the pits (informal) The absolute worst place, conditions, thing, person, etc possible |