pit
part of speech
noun (a pit, pits); verb (pit, pits, pitted, pitting)
meaning for a pupil
1) A pit is a large hole in the ground, dug by people or made naturally. tree →
2) A pit is a coal mine (UK). tree →
3) (US, Canada) A pit is the hard stone in the middle of some fruits, like a peach or cherry. tree →
4) In motor racing, the pits are the place beside the track where cars stop for fuel and new tyres. tree →
5) (slang, UK) A very messy room or place can be called a pit. tree →
6) To pit one person against another is to make them compete or fight. tree →
7) The pit of your stomach is the deep inside of your belly, where you feel fear. tree →
8) Pit can also mean the hollow place under your arm, the armpit. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: The pit where Joseph was cast was empty, with no water in it. The psalmists speak of being saved from "the pit", meaning death. Interpretation: The rabbis noted that the pit was empty of water but, they say, held snakes and scorpions; the law says whoever digs a pit must pay if an animal falls in. In the primary lessons: In history lessons pits are coal mines where miners (and once even children) worked; in science, pits and craters form in rock and on the Moon. In stories a pit can be a trap, and in the Bible Joseph's brothers threw him into a pit. In everyday life, "the pits" means the very worst. Phrases: "fire pit", "sand pit", "orchestra pit", "the pits", "a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach", "pit against".
examples
- And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. (Torah GEN.37.29, JPS 1917) tree →
- and they took him, and cast him into the pit — and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. (Torah GEN.37.24, JPS 1917) tree →
- the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money unto the owner of them, and the dead beast shall be his. (Torah EXO.21.34, JPS 1917) tree →
- For they have digged a pit for my soul. (Prophets JER.18.20, JPS 1917) tree →
- Terror and the pit are come upon us, desolation and destruction. (Writings LAM.3.47, JPS 1917) tree →
- That he should still live alway, that he should not see the pit. (Writings PSA.49.10, JPS 1917) tree →
- The workers dug a deep pit for the new pond. tree →
- (Bible) Joseph's brothers threw him into a dry pit. tree →
- My great-grandad worked down the pit in Wales. tree →
- (US) Be careful not to swallow the cherry pit. tree →
- The racing car came into the pits for new tyres. tree →
- The final pitted our school against last year's champions. tree →
- I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach before the test. tree →
- (informal) Losing the match in the last minute was the pits. tree →
- (slang, UK) Your bedroom is a total pit — tidy it! tree →
- “Here, in my left arm-pit,” answered he. tree →
note
Countable noun: a pit, pits. Past of the verb: pitted (double t). A "pitted" olive has had its stone removed; "pitted" skin or metal has many small holes. In British English the fruit centre is usually a "stone", in American English a "pit". "The pits" (plural, informal) means terrible.
In the corpora
- and they took him, and cast him into the pit — and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
- And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
- Yet thou shalt be brought down to the nether-world, to the uttermost parts of the pit.
- Terror, and the pit, and the trap, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
- For they have digged a pit for my soul.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «pit» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.