释义
[ wit ] SHOW IPA
/ wɪt / PHONETIC RESPELLING
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noun 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; frightened out of one's wits. Idioms for witat one's wit's end . at the end of one's ideas or mental resources; perplexed: My two-year-old won't eat anything but pizza, and I'm at my wit's end.
keep / 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.
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Origin of wit 1 First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English: “mind, thought”; cognate with German Witz, Old Norse vit; akin to wit2
SYNONYMS FOR wit 1 drollery, facetiousness, waggishness, repartee.
2 banter, joking, witticism, quip, raillery, badinage, persiflage; bon mot.
3 wag, jester, epigrammatist, satirist.
4 wisdom, sense, mind.
5a cleverness, cunning, wisdom, insight, perspicacity, sagaciousness, acumen.
5b mind, sanity; brains, marbles.
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synonym study for wit See humor.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wit whit, wit Words nearby wit Wissler's syndrome, wist, Wister, wisteria, wistful, wit , witan, witblits, witch, witch alder, witch ball
Definition for wit (2 of 2) [ wit ] SHOW IPA
/ wɪt / PHONETIC RESPELLING
verb (used with or without object), present singular 1st person wot, 2nd wost, 3rd wot, present plural wit or wite; past and past participle wist; present participle wit·ting. Origin of wit 2 before 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
Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for wit They wanted to linger for a few days, which turned into four days of heavy drinking and blasting wit , much of it at James’s expense.
To Find Hope in American Cooking, James Beard Looked to the West Coast | John Birdsall| October 2, 2020| Eater
To wit , check out this latest ETF flow data from BoA Securities.
Is M&A back? Investors hope so, and that’s lifting global stocks | Bernhard Warner| September 15, 2020| Fortune
To wit , the kids this morning masked up and entered the school building, one at a time.
A flurry of M&A deals lifts global stocks. Yes, even tech stocks | Bernhard Warner| September 14, 2020| Fortune
Wit h caustic wit , Iannucci examines the humanity of his characters and the absurdity of their behavior wit h both passion and precision.
FROM THE VAULTS – Straight, but not narrow | Brian T. Carney| September 11, 2020| Washington Blade
To wit , buyers appeared eager to jump back into tech names Wednesday.
Where do tech stocks go from here? | Anne Sraders| September 10, 2020| Fortune
Wit h twice as many British soldiers, Washington was in for a fiercely competitive battle of wit and strength.
The British Royals Reinvade Brooklyn: William and Kate Come Watch Basketball on Historic Battle Site | Justin Jones| December 6, 2014| DAILY BEAST
He was renowned for his wit , disarming his critics wit h unfailing humor.
Boris Johnson’s Churchill Man Crush | Michael F. Bishop| November 22, 2014| DAILY BEAST
Renowned livestock specialist and autism advocate Temple Grandin brought her unique intellect and wit to Reddit.
The Most Inspiring Bits of Temple Grandin’s Reddit AMA | Emily Shire| November 18, 2014| DAILY BEAST
Amid our grief we now see that New York had been distracted by flash and wit and cash for too long.
The Resilient City: New York After 9/11 | John Avlon| September 11, 2014| DAILY BEAST
It was a circle of exceptionally bright teenagers who revelled equally in wit and in culture.
Why World War I Is at the Heart of ‘Lord of the Rings’ | John Garth| July 29, 2014| DAILY BEAST
I suppose it is a sort of nemesis of wit ; the skidding of a wheel in the height of its speed.
George Bernard Shaw | Gilbert K. Chesterton
Men of wit and learning employ themselves to celebrate his talents, and to express their approbation of his writings.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 13, Issue 350, January 3, 1829 | Various
In fine, Nosti est au bout de son latin (is at his wit 's end, poor devil)!
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. VII. (of XXI.) | Thomas Carlyle
The man that marries my Fan has got to have sabe enough to round up a flock of goats—and wit enough to get up in the morning.
They of the High Trails | Hamlin Garland
Her beauty, her wit , they were her own; but they had availed her little before her betrothment to Rube.
Belford's Magazine, Volume II, No. 8, January, 1889 | Various
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British Dictionary definitions for wit (1 of 2) noun 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 )
Scot and Northern English dialect information or knowledge (esp in the phrase get wit of )
archaic mental capacity or a person possessing it
obsolete the mind or memory
SEE MORE SEE LESS Word Origin for wit Old English witt; related to Old Saxon giwitt, Old High German wizzi (German Witz ), Old Norse vit, Gothic witi. See wit ²
British Dictionary definitions for wit (2 of 2) verb archaic to be or become aware of (something)
adverb to wit that is to say; namely (used to introduce statements, as in legal documents)
Word Origin for wit Old English witan; related to Old High German wizzan (German wissen ), Old Norse vita, Latin vidēre to see
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with wit see at one's wit's end; have one's wits about one; live by one's wits; scare out of one's wits; to wit.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Words related to wit fun, joke, satire, repartee, jest, wisecrack, pleasantry, prank, drollery, levity, lark, raillery, pun, aphorism, banter, burlesque, gag, sally, quip, jocularity