wit
part of speech
noun (wit, wits)
meaning for a pupil
1) Wit is the ability to say clever and funny things quickly. tree →
2) A wit is a person who is clever and funny with words. tree →
3) Wits (plural) are your ability to think clearly and quickly: «keep your wits about you». tree →
4) (old) «To wit» is an old, formal way of saying «that is to say» or «namely». tree →
sense in the lessons
In English lessons, writers and characters show wit through puns, jokes and quick answers; Oscar Wilde was a famous wit. In safety lessons, «keep your wits about you» means stay alert. In olympiad and puzzle work, wit means quick, clever thinking. Phrases: «quick wit», «at your wits' end» (so worried you don't know what to do), «scared out of your wits», «battle of wits», «live on your wits».
examples
- Her quick wit made the whole class laugh. tree →
- Oscar Wilde was a famous wit. tree →
- Keep your wits about you when crossing busy roads. tree →
- Mum was at her wits' end when the dog ran away. tree →
- The ghost story scared me out of my wits. tree →
- The puzzle was a real battle of wits. tree →
- (old, formal) There were three winners, to wit: Ava, Ben and Chloe. tree →
- Gathering his wits together, he said: tree →
note
«Wit» (cleverness, uncountable) vs «wits» (your mind, plural). Apostrophe: «at your wits' end» (plural wits). Adjective: witty (funny and clever). «Witless» means stupid. Not the same as «with»: wit has no «h».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «wit» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.