fit1

[fit] /fɪt/
adjective, fitter, fittest.
1.
adapted or suited; appropriate:
This water isn't fit for drinking. A long-necked giraffe is fit for browsing treetops.
2.
proper or becoming:
fit behavior.
3.
qualified or competent, as for an office or function:
a fit candidate.
4.
prepared or ready:
crops fit for gathering.
5.
in good physical condition; in good health:
He's fit for the race.
6.
Biology.
  1. being adapted to the prevailing conditions and producing offspring that survive to reproductive age.
  2. contributing genetic information to the gene pool of the next generation.
  3. (of a population) maintaining or increasing the group's numbers in the environment.
verb (used with object), fitted or fit, fitting.
7.
to be adapted to or suitable for (a purpose, object, occasion, etc.).
8.
to be proper or becoming for.
9.
to be of the right size or shape for:
The dress fitted her perfectly.
10.
to adjust or make conform:
to fit a ring to the finger.
11.
to make qualified or competent:
qualities that fit one for leadership.
12.
to prepare:
This school fits students for college.
13.
to put with precise placement or adjustment:
He fitted the picture into the frame.
14.
to provide; furnish; equip:
to fit a door with a new handle.
verb (used without object), fitted or fit, fitting.
15.
to be suitable or proper.
16.
to be of the right size or shape, as a garment for the wearer or any object or part for a thing to which it is applied:
The shoes fit.
noun
17.
the manner in which a thing fits:
The fit was perfect.
18.
something that fits:
The coat is a poor fit.
19.
the process of fitting.
Verb phrases
20.
fit out/up, to furnish with supplies, equipment, clothing, furniture, or other requisites; supply; equip:
to fit out an expedition.
Idioms
21.
fit to be tied, Informal. extremely annoyed or angry:
He was fit to be tied when I told him I'd wrecked the car.
22.
fit to kill, Informal. to the limit; exceedingly:
She was dressed up fit to kill.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English fitten; akin to Middle Dutch vitten to befit
Related forms
fittable, adjective
unfittable, adjective
Synonyms
1. suitable, apt, corresponding, meet, applicable, apropos. 2. fitting, befitting. 5. healthy, hale, hardy, strong, robust.
Usage note
Both fit and fitted are standard as past tense and past participle of fit1: The new door fit (or fitted) the old frame perfectly. The suit had fitted (or fit) well last year. Fitted is somewhat more common than fit in the sense “to adjust, make conform”: The tailor fitted the suit with a minimum of fuss. In the passive voice, fitted is the more common past participle: The door was fitted with a new handle.

fit2

[fit] /fɪt/
noun
1.
a sudden, acute attack or manifestation of a disease, especially one marked by convulsions or unconsciousness:
a fit of epilepsy.
2.
an onset, spell, or period of emotion, feeling, inclination, activity, etc.:
a fit of anger; a fit of weeping.
Idioms
3.
by / in fits and starts, at irregular intervals; intermittently:
This radio works by fits and starts.
4.
throw a fit, to become extremely excited or angry:
Your father will throw a fit when he hears what you have done.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English; Old English fitt round of fighting. See fit3

fit3

[fit] /fɪt/
noun, Archaic.
1.
a song, ballad, or story.
2.
a division of a song, ballad, or story.
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English fitt round of singing, canto, song, speech

fit4

[fit] /fɪt/
verb, Nonstandard (chiefly Older Use) .
1.
simple past tense of fight.
Examples from the web for fits
  • The club is gracefully designed and fits easily in the hand.
  • But the style fits the subject so perfectly as never to claim attention for itself.
  • He has never found time to explain how the fact fits into his general theory that life is not unbearable in the tenements.
  • It runs true to size, but it doesn't have extra room, so it fits well under a jacket.
  • Small profile plate fits all compact digital cameras.
  • Our technology lets you make millions of different keys, try them all at once, and isolate the single one that fits.
  • If the streets are full of people under umbrellas, yours fits in with the crowd.
  • Comfort is high and it fits snugly but is not overly tight.
  • They'll listen to music that comes from an object that fits in the hand, and they'll listen to music in the car.
  • Once in a while, what she hears fits smoothly with what she sees.
British Dictionary definitions for fits

fit1

/fɪt/
verb fits, fitting, fitted (US) fit
1.
to be appropriate or suitable for (a situation, etc)
2.
to be of the correct size or shape for (a connection, container, etc)
3.
(transitive) to adjust in order to render appropriate: they had to fit the idea to their philosophy
4.
(transitive) to supply with that which is needed
5.
(transitive) to try clothes on (someone) in order to make adjustments if necessary
6.
(transitive) to make competent or ready: the experience helped to fit him for the task
7.
(transitive) to locate with care
8.
(intransitive) to correspond with the facts or circumstances
adjective fitter, fittest
9.
suitable to a purpose or design; appropriate
10.
having the right qualifications; qualifying
11.
in good health
12.
worthy or deserving: a book fit to be read
13.
(foll by an infinitive) in such an extreme condition that a specified consequence is likely: she was fit to scream, you look fit to drop
14.
(mainly Brit, informal) (of a person) sexually attractive
noun
15.
the manner in which something fits
16.
the act or process of fitting
17.
(statistics) the correspondence between observed and predicted characteristics of a distribution or model See goodness of fit
See also fit in, fit out, fit up
Derived Forms
fittable, adjective
Word Origin
C14: probably from Middle Dutch vitten; related to Old Norse fitja to knit

fit2

/fɪt/
noun
1.
(pathol) a sudden attack or convulsion, such as an epileptic seizure
2.
a sudden spell of emotion: a fit of anger
3.
an impulsive period of activity or lack of activity; mood: a fit of laziness
4.
give a person a fit, to surprise a person in an outrageous manner
5.
(informal) have a fit, throw a fit, to become very angry or excited
6.
in fits and starts, by fits and starts, in spasmodic spells; irregularly
verb fits, fitting, fitted
7.
(intransitive) (informal) to have a sudden attack or convulsion, such as an epileptic seizure
Word Origin
Old English fitt conflict; see fit³

fit3

/fɪt/
noun
1.
(archaic) a story or song or a section of a story or song
Word Origin
Old English fitt; related to Old Norse fit hem, Old High German fizza yarn
Word Origin and History for fits

fit

n.

1823, "the fitting of one thing to another," later (1831) "the way something fits." Originally "an adversary of equal power" (mid-13c.), obscure, possibly from Old English fitt "a conflict, a struggle" (see fit (n.2)).

"paroxysm, sudden attack" (as of anger), 1540s, probably via Middle English sense of "painful, exciting experience" (early 14c.), from Old English fitt "conflict, struggle," of uncertain origin, with no clear cognates outside English. Perhaps ultimately cognate with fit (n.1) on notion of "to meet." Phrase by fits and starts first attested 1610s.

part of a poem, Old English fitt, of unknown origin.

adj.

"suited to the circumstances, proper," mid-15c., of unknown origin, perhaps from Middle English noun fit "an adversary of equal power" (mid-13c.), which is perhaps connected to fit (n.1). Related: Fitter; fittest. Survival of the fittest (1867) coined by H. Spencer.

v.

"be suitable," probably from early 15c.; "to be the right shape," 1580s, from fit (adj.). Related: Fitted; fitting. Fitted sheets is attested from 1963.

fits in Medicine

fit 1 (fĭt)
v. fit·ted or fit, fit·ted, fit·ting, fits
To be the proper size and shape. adj. fit·ter, fit·test
Physically sound; healthy. n.
The degree of precision with which surfaces are adjusted or adapted to each other in a machine, device, or collection of parts.

fit 2 (fĭt)
n.

  1. A seizure or a convulsion, especially one caused by epilepsy.

  2. The sudden appearance of a symptom such as coughing or sneezing.

Slang definitions & phrases for fits

fit

noun

The devices used for injecting narcotics; drug paraphernalia; works

Related Terms

duck-fit, have a shit fit, throw a fit

[1950s+ Narcotics; probably a shortening of outfit]


fits in Technology


Flexible Image Transport System. The standard data interchange and archive format of the astronomy community.
(1994-12-01)

Related Abbreviations for fits

FITS

flexible image transport system

FIT

frequent international traveler
Idioms and Phrases with fits

fit

also see:
Encyclopedia Article for fits

fit

in literature, a division of a poem or song, a canto, or a similar division. The word, which is archaic, is of Old English date and has an exact correspondent in Old Saxon fittea, an example of which occurs in the Latin preface of the Heliand. It probably represents figurative use of a common Germanic noun referring to the unraveled edge of a fabric. Lewis Carroll revived this archaic poetic division (perhaps to lend gravity) in the composition of his 132-verse nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark (1876), beginning with "Fit the First: The Landing" and ending with "Fit the Eighth: The Vanishing."

Learn more about fit with a free trial on Britannica.com