suit

noun

/suːt/

Idioms

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a set of clothes made of the same cloth, including a jacket and trousers or a skirt
- He was wearing a grey business suit.
- He is dressed in a formal black suit.
- They won't let you into the restaurant without a suit and tie.
- a two-/three-piece suit (= of two/three pieces of clothing)
- a pinstripe suit
see also dinner suit, jogging suit, jumpsuit, leisure suit, lounge suit, morning suit, safari suit, penguin suit, sailor suit, shell suit, sweatsuit, tracksuit, trouser suit, zoot suit
Extra Examples
- He wore his one good suit to the interview.
- Two men in suits came out of the hotel.
Topics Clothes and Fashiona2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- designer
- elegant
- immaculate
- …
suit + noun
- coat
- jacket
- pants
- …
preposition
- in a suit
phrases
- a suit and tie
- a suit of armour/armor
- a suit of clothes
- …
See full entry
a set of clothing worn for a particular activity
- a diving suit
- a suit of armour
- His parents had bought him a new suit of clothes for the occasion.
see also bathing suit, boiler suit, flying suit, hazmat suit, pressure suit, spacesuit, swimsuit, wetsuit
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- designer
- elegant
- immaculate
- …
suit + noun
- coat
- jacket
- pants
- …
preposition
- in a suit
phrases
- a suit and tie
- a suit of armour/armor
- a suit of clothes
- …
See full entry
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any of the four sets that form a pack of cards
- The suits are called hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades.
Wordfinder
- ace
- card
- cut
- deal
- gambling
- hand
- jack
- shuffle
- suit
- trump
Extra Examples
- All the cards have to be from the same suit.
- The suit changed to diamonds.
- Which suit is trumps?
Topics Games and toysc2
(also lawsuit)
a claim or complaint against somebody that a person or an organization can make in court
- to file/bring a suit against somebody
- a divorce suit
see also paternity suit
Extra Examples
- His former business associate filed a suit against him claiming £5 million damages.
- She plans to defend the suit vigorously.
- The company now faces several suits over its failure to protect its employees.
- The two companies have settled the suit.
- They have agreed to drop their suit against the Dutch company.
- a suit against her former husband
- a suit over a disputed estate
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- civil
- class-action
- paternity
- …
verb + suit
- bring
- file
- be involved in
- …
preposition
- in a/the suit
- suit against
- suit over
- …
See full entry
[usually plural] (informal) a person with an important job as a manager in a company or organization, especially one who is thought to work mainly with financial matters or to have a lot of influence
- We can leave the detailed negotiations to the suits.
- He’s a ‘suit’, not a ‘creative’.

Word OriginMiddle English: from Anglo-Norman French siwte, from a feminine past participle of a Romance verb based on Latin sequi ‘follow’. Early senses included ‘attendance at a court’ and ‘legal process’; senses (1) to (3) derive from an earlier meaning ‘set of things to be used together’. The verb sense ‘make appropriate’ dates from the late 16th cent.

Idioms

be somebody’s strong suit

to be a subject that somebody knows a lot about
- I'm afraid geography is not my strong suit.

follow suit

(in card games) to play a card of the same suit that has just been played
to act or behave in the way that somebody else has just done

in your birthday suit

(humorous) not wearing any clothes

suit

verb

/suːt/

[no passive] not used in the progressive tenses

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they suit	/suːt/ /suːt/
he / she / it suits	/suːts/ /suːts/
past simple suited	/ˈsuːtɪd/ /ˈsuːtɪd/
past participle suited	/ˈsuːtɪd/ /ˈsuːtɪd/
-ing form suiting	/ˈsuːtɪŋ/ /ˈsuːtɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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to be convenient or useful for somebody
- suit somebody/something If we met at two, would that suit you?
- If you want to go by bus, that suits me fine.
- Customers will be offered solutions that best suit their needs.
- He can be very helpful, but only when it suits him.
- A variety of dishes were available to suit all tastes.
- it suits somebody to do something It suits me to start work at a later time.
Extra Examples
- Try out the various rackets to find out which one suits you best.
- It would suit me fine if I never have to see them again.
- This arrangement suited me perfectly.
- a shampoo designed to suit all hair types
- Choose a computer to suit your particular needs.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- admirably
- fine
- well
- …
verb + suit
- seem to
- adapt something to
- adjust something to
- …
phrases
- especially suited
- ideally suited
- particularly suited
- …
See full entry
suit somebody (especially of clothes, colours, etc.) to make you look attractive
- Blue suits you. You should wear it more often.
- I don't think this coat really suits me.
suit somebody/something (especially British English) (usually used in negative sentences) to be right or good for somebody/something
- This hot weather doesn't suit me.

Idioms

suit your/somebody’s book

(British English, informal) to be convenient or useful for you/somebody
- Well, if you’re honest and hard-working, that suits our book.

suit somebody down to the ground

(British English, informal) to be very convenient or acceptable for somebody
- This job suits me down to the ground.
- Country life suits me down to the ground!

suit yourself (informal)

to do exactly what you would like
- I choose my assignments to suit myself.
usually used in orders to tell somebody to do what they want, even though it annoys you
- ‘I think I'll stay in this evening.’ ‘Suit yourself!’