wit

wit
noun
1 clever use of words
ADJECTIVE
great
quick, ready
acerbic, barbed, biting, caustic, dry, mordant, rapier, razor-sharp, sarcastic, sardonic, sharp, sly, wicked, wry
gentle, self-deprecating
dazzling (esp. BrE), sparkling
verbal
VERB + WIT
have

He has plenty of wit and imagination.

He had a dry wit. (BrE)

PHRASES
wit and wisdom

a book full of the wit and wisdom of his 30 years in politics

2 intelligence
ADJECTIVE
native

She had to use all her native wit to convince the police.

VERB + WIT
have

I hope he has the wit to take the key with him.

use
PHRASES
beyond the wit of man (= impossible) (esp. BrE)

It should not be beyond the wit of man to resolve this dispute.

3 wits ability to think quickly
VERB + WITS
use
have (esp. AmE)

I hope you had the wits to apologize.

gather, recover

She couldn't seem to gather her wits and tell us what had happened.

sharpen
match

The game allows you to match wits with a computer criminal.

PHRASES
a battle of wits

The strike developed into a battle of wits between management and workers.

have your wits about you, keep your wits about you

They do tough interviews, so you'll need to have your wits about you.

pit your wits against sb (esp. BrE)

Celebrity teams pit their wits against each other in this lively quiz show.

scare the wits out of sb

The latest news has scared the wits out of investors.

I was scared out of my wits!

wits' end

I'm at my wits' end trying to cope with his moods.


Collocations dictionary. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wit — Wit, n. [AS. witt, wit; akin to OFries. wit, G. witz, OHG. wizz[=i], Icel. vit, Dan. vid, Sw. vett. [root]133. See {Wit}, v.] [1913 Webster] 1. Mind; intellect; understanding; sense. [1913 Webster] Who knew the wit of the Lord? or who was his… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wit — is a form of intellectual humour. A wit (person) is someone skilled in making witty remarks. Forms of wit include: the quip and the repartee. Forms of wit As in the wit of Parker s set, the Algonquin Round Table, witty remarks may be… …   Wikipedia

  • wit — [wıt] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(amusing)¦ 2¦(amusing person)¦ 3 wits 4 frighten/scare/terrify somebody out of their wits 5 gather/collect/recover etc your wits 6 pit your wits against somebody 7 be at your wits end 8 have the wit to do something 9 not be… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • wit — n 1 intelligence, brain, *mind, intellect, soul, psyche Analogous words: *reason, understanding, intuition: comprehension, apprehension (see under APPREHEND): sagaciousness or sagacity, perspicaciousness or perspicacity (see corresponding… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • wit — [ wıt ] noun * 1. ) singular or uncount the ability to use words in a clever way to make people laugh: He is a man of great wit, sensitivity, and passion. a dry/biting/acerbic/caustic wit (=the tendency to say clever and slightly cruel things):… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • WIT — steht für: Wit, ein Fluss in Bulgarien Wit ist der Name folgender Personen: Antoni Wit (* 1944), polnischer Dirigent Piet de Wit (Radsportler) (* 1946), niederländischer Radrennfahrer Piet de Wit (Unternehmer) (1869–1947), niederländischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • wit — wit1 [wit] n. [ME < OE, akin to Ger witz: for IE base see WISE1] 1. Obs. the mind 2. [pl.] a) powers of thinking and reasoning; intellectual and perceptive powers b) mental faculties with respect to their state of balance, esp. in their normal …   English World dictionary

  • Wit — (w[i^]t), v. t. & i. [inf. (To) {Wit}; pres. sing. {Wot}; pl. {Wite}; imp. {Wist(e)}; p. p. {Wist}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wit(t)ing}. See the Note below.] [OE. witen, pres. ich wot, wat, I know (wot), imp. wiste, AS. witan, pres. w[=a]t, imp. wiste,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wit — (w[i^]t), v. t. & i. [inf. (To) {Wit}; pres. sing. {Wot}; pl. {Wite}; imp. {Wist(e)}; p. p. {Wist}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wit(t)ing}. See the Note below.] [OE. witen, pres. ich wot, wat, I know (wot), imp. wiste, AS. witan, pres. w[=a]t, imp. wiste,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • WIT — is:* The ticker symbol for Wipro Technologies, India.* The timezone Waktu Indonesia Timur, covering eastern IndonesiaPerformance groups abbreviated WIT:* Washington Improv Theater of Washington, DC, USA. * Wellington Improvisation Troupe in… …   Wikipedia

  • Wit — (logiciel) wit est un logiciel libre écrit en Python fournissant une interface Web pour le système de gestion de versions git. Voir aussi gitweb écrit en Perl git php écrit en PHP Liens externes Wit au travail (sources du noyau Linux) Ce document …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”