Fit — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective verb noun /ˈfit/

Meaning & Definition of Fit

Fit (adjective)

  1. acceptable from a particular viewpoint (as of competence or morality), proper
  2. adapted to an end or design, suitable by nature or by art
  3. adapted to the environment so as to be capable of surviving

Fit (verb)

  1. to conform correctly to the shape or size of
  2. to insert or adjust until correctly in place
  3. to make or adjust to the right shape and size

Fit (noun)

  1. the fact, condition, or manner of fitting or being fitted
  2. the way clothing fits the wearer
  3. the degree of closeness between surfaces in an assembly of parts
  4. an emotional reaction (as in anger or frustration)
  5. a sudden burst or flurry (as of activity)
  6. a sudden violent attack of a disease (such as epilepsy) especially when marked by convulsions or unconsciousness, paroxysm
  7. a division of a poem or song

Fit (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to be fitting or proper

    "we hardly know them, so for Christmas a simple card will fit"

    similar: befit, beseem (archaic), do, go, serve, suit, fill the bill
    related: satisfy, suffice, function, work

  2. to be in agreement on every point

    "now that you've explained your absence to me, my records and the office's fit"

    similar: accord, agree, answer, check, chord, cohere, coincide, comport, conform, consist, correspond, dovetail, go, harmonize, jibe, rhyme, sort, square, tally, fall in with
    related: equal, match, parallel, align, line up, register
    opposite: differ (from), disagree (with)
    near: contradict, dispute, gainsay, negate, nullify, clash, conflict, jar

  3. to change (something) so as to make it suitable for a new use or situation

    "I can undo the hem on these old culottes and fit them into a skirt"

    similar: acclimate, acclimatize, accommodate, adapt, adjust, condition, conform, doctor, edit, fashion, put, shape, suit, tailor
    related: readapt, readjust, customize, gear, match, model, pattern, attune, correct, harmonize, square, tune, establish, root, settle, acquaint, familiarize, orient, orientate, equip, prepare, prime, rehearse, harden, inure, season, toughen, alter, convert, make over, modify, recast, reclaim, recycle, redesign, redevelop, redo, reengineer, refashion, refigure, refit, refocus, reinvent, rejigger, remake, remodel, revamp, revise, rework, transform, accustom, habilitate, habituate, naturalize, ready, train, bend, fiddle (with), fine-tune, phase, register, regulate, rig
    near: misadjust

  4. to make competent (as by training, skill, or ability) for a particular office or function

    "that final computer course should fit him for a career in programming"

    similar: equip, prepare, qualify, ready, season, train
    related: accustom, adapt, adjust, condition, groom, habituate, shape, tailor, authorize, entitle, empower, enable, educate, indoctrinate, instruct, school, teach, tutor

  5. to make or have room for

    "we can fit you in the booth if the rest of us squeeze closer together"

    similar: accommodate, hold, take
    related: carry, contain, seat, enclose, encompass, enfold, harbor, house

  6. to make ready in advance

    "I won't have time to fit the spare room for the guests"

    similar: fix, groom, lay, prep, prepare, ready
    related: brace, fortify, gird, steel, batten, gather, gear up, mount, educate, indoctrinate, instruct, school, train, tutor, boot (up), prime, arrange, set, spread, arm, equip, forearm, furnish, outfit, provide, supply, incline, predispose, draft, draw up, frame, warm (up)

Fit (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a sudden experiencing of a physical or mental disorder

    "without her medication, she'd have an epileptic fit"

    similar: access, attack, bout, case, seizure, siege, spell, turn
    related: recurrence, relapse, brainstorm, convulsion, eclampsia, pang, paroxysm, spasm, throe, agitation, frenzy, breakdown, collapse, prostration
    near: arrest, relief, remission

  2. a sudden intense expression of strong feeling

    "helpless fits of laughter from the audience"

    similar: agony, blaze, burst, ebullition, eruption, explosion, flare, flare-up, flash, flush, gale, gush, gust, outburst, paroxysm, spasm, storm
    related: blowup, grouch, rage, tantrum, ecstasy, rapture, transport, delirium, firestorm, frenzy, furor

  3. an outburst or display of excited anger

    "found out what his wife had spent on clothes and threw a fit"

    similar: blowup, explosion, fireworks, hissy (chiefly Southern & southern Midland), hissy fit, huff, scene, tantrum
    related: eruption, flare-up, outburst, storm, uproar, agitation, delirium, distraction, frenzy, furor, furore, fury, hysteria, rage, rampage, convulsion(s), paroxysm, seizure, spasm, upheaval, angriness, choler, indignation, irateness, ire, lividity, lividness, spleen, wrath, wrathfulness, reaction, rise, dander, temper, grouch, hump (British), pet, pouts, snit, sulk(s), sulkiness, sullenness

Fit (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. meeting the requirements of a purpose or situation

    "clothing that is fit for horseback riding"

    similar: applicable, appropriate, apt, becoming, befitting, felicitous, fitted, fitting, good, happy, meet, pretty, proper, right, suitable, in order
    related: condign, deserved, just, justified, needed, required, requisite, able, capable, competent, cut out, qualified, trained, pitch-perfect, acceptable, adequate, decent, kosher, satisfactory, serviceable, tolerable, correct, decorous, respectable, seemly, balanced, companionate, congruous, consonant, harmonious, rightful
    opposite: improper, inapplicable, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, incongruous, indecent, infelicitous, malapropos, misbecoming, unapt, unbecoming, unbeseeming, unfit, unfitting, unhappy, unmeet, unseemly, unsuitable, wrong
    near: incapable, incompetent, inept, inexpert, unqualified, unskilled, unskillful, untrained, inadequate, intolerable, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, graceless, incorrect, indecorous, incompatible, uncongenial

  2. being in a state of fitness for some experience or action

    "fit for military service"

    similar: go, prepared, ready, set
    related: conditioned, primed, ripe, armed, braced, fortified, steeled, qualified, trained
    opposite: flat-footed, half-baked, half-cocked, underprepared, unprepared, unready
    near: unqualified, untrained

  3. capable of or suitable for being used for a particular purpose

    "I don't think those bald tires are fit for winter driving"

    similar: available, employable, exploitable, functional, operable, practicable, serviceable, usable, useful
    related: applicable, relevant, doable, feasible, viable, workable, reusable
    opposite: impracticable, inoperable, nonfunctional, unavailable, unemployable, unusable

  4. enjoying health and vigor

    "eat well and stay fit"

    similar: able-bodied, bouncing, hale, healthy, hearty, robust, sound, well, well-conditioned, whole, wholesome, in fine fettle, in shape, in the pink
    related: hard, hardy, iron, lusty, rugged, stalwart, strong, sturdy, tough, ambulatory, nondisabled, uncrippled, active, agile, chipper, lively, sprightful, sprightly, spry, vigorous, vital, blooming, clean-cut, flourishing, flush, prospering, thriving, all right, good, right
    opposite: ailing, diseased, ill, sick, unfit, unhealthy, unsound, unwell
    near: decrepit, enfeebled, feeble, infirm, run-down, sickened, sickly, weak, weakened, weakly, worn-out, debilitated, differently abled, disabled, incapacitated, delicate, fragile, frail, emaciated, gaunt, haggard, malnourished, undernourished, afflicted, troubled, bad, poorly

  5. having the required skills for an acceptable level of performance

    "need to hire someone whose language skills make them fit for the job"

    similar: able, capable, competent, equal, good, qualified, suitable, on the ball
    related: accomplished, ace, adept, experienced, expert, master, masterful, masterly, practiced, proficient, seasoned, skilled, skillful, veteran, overqualified, prepared, schooled, trained, apt, ready, willing, all-around, protean, versatile
    opposite: incompetent, inept, poor, unfit, unfitted, unqualified
    near: inexperienced, inexpert, unseasoned, unskilled, unskillful, unprepared, unschooled, untrained, beginning, green, new, raw, untested, untried

Related Entry: Fitted (verb)

Fitted is a different word from Fit. The synonyms below are for fitted, not for fit.

  1. to be fitting or proper

    "we hardly know them, so for Christmas a simple card will fit"

    similar: befitted, beseemed (archaic), did, served, suited, went, filled the bill
    related: satisfied, sufficed, functioned, worked

  2. to be in agreement on every point

    "now that you've explained your absence to me, my records and the office's fit"

    similar: accorded, agreed, answered, checked, chorded, cohered, coincided, comported, conformed, consisted, corresponded, dovetailed, harmonized, jibed, rhymed, sorted, squared, tallied, went, fell in with
    related: equaled, matched, paralleled, aligned, lined up, registered
    opposite: differed (from), disagreed (with)
    near: contradicted, disputed, gainsaid, negated, nullified, clashed, conflicted, jarred

  3. to change (something) so as to make it suitable for a new use or situation

    "I can undo the hem on these old culottes and fit them into a skirt"

    similar: acclimated, acclimatized, accommodated, adapted, adjusted, conditioned, conformed, doctored, edited, fashioned, put, shaped, suited, tailored
    related: readapted, readjusted, customized, geared, matched, modeled, patterned, attuned, corrected, harmonized, squared, tuned, established, rooted, settled, acquainted, familiarized, orientated, oriented, equipped, prepared, primed, rehearsed, hardened, inured, seasoned, toughened, altered, converted, made over, modified, recast, reclaimed, recycled, redesigned, redeveloped, redid, reengineered, refashioned, refigured, refitted, refocused, reinvented, rejiggered, remade, remodeled, revamped, revised, reworked, transformed, accustomed, habilitated, habituated, naturalized, readied, trained, bent, fiddled (with), fine-tuned, phased, registered, regulated, rigged
    near: misadjusted

  4. to make competent (as by training, skill, or ability) for a particular office or function

    "that final computer course should fit him for a career in programming"

    similar: equipped, prepared, qualified, readied, seasoned, trained
    related: accustomed, adapted, adjusted, conditioned, groomed, habituated, shaped, tailored, authorized, entitled, empowered, enabled, educated, indoctrinated, instructed, schooled, taught, tutored

  5. to make or have room for

    "we can fit you in the booth if the rest of us squeeze closer together"

    similar: accommodated, held, took
    related: carried, contained, seated, enclosed, encompassed, enfolded, harbored, housed

  6. to make ready in advance

    "I won't have time to fit the spare room for the guests"

    similar: fixed, groomed, laid, prepared, prepped, readied
    related: braced, fortified, girded, steeled, battened, gathered, geared up, mounted, educated, indoctrinated, instructed, schooled, trained, tutored, booted (up), primed, arranged, set, spread, armed, equipped, forearmed, furnished, outfitted, provided, supplied, inclined, predisposed, drafted, drew up, framed, warmed (up)

Related Entry: Fit (in or into) (verb)

Fit (in or into) is a different word from Fit. The synonyms below are for fit (in or into), not for fit.

  1. to put among or between others

    "do you think you can fit this picture into the album?"

    "I can fit you in between my two o'clock and three o'clock appointments"

    similar: edge in, inject, insert, insinuate, intercalate, interject, interpolate, interpose, intersperse, introduce, sandwich (in or between), work in
    related: cut in, inlay, inset, install, interfile, interline, lard, weave, cram, shove, thrust, wedge, add, append, attach
    near: eject, eliminate, exclude, expel, extract, withdraw, deduct, detach, subtract, reject

Related Entry: Fit (out) (verb)

Fit (out) is a different word from Fit. The synonyms below are for fit (out), not for fit.

  1. to provide (someone) with what is needed for a task or activity

    "fitted the hikers out with good boots and heavy socks"

    similar: accoutre, equip, furnish, gird, kit (up or out) (chiefly British), outfit, provision, rig, supply
    related: stock, store, bestow, contribute, donate, give, present, apportion, deal (out), dispense, distribute, dole out, hand out, mete (out), parcel (out), portion, prorate, allocate, allot, assign, arm, fortify, prepare, reequip, refit, refurnish, reoutfit
    near: deprive, dispossess, divest, strip

Related Entry: Fit to be tied (phrase)

Fit to be tied is a different word from Fit. The synonyms below are for fit to be tied, not for fit.

  1. feeling or showing anger

    "She was fit to be tied when her insurance refused to cover her needed prescriptions."

    similar: angered, angry, apoplectic, ballistic, cheesed off (chiefly British), choleric, enraged, foaming, fuming, furious, hopping, horn-mad, hot, incensed, indignant, inflamed, infuriate, infuriated, irate, ireful, livid, mad, outraged, rabid, rankled, riled, riley, roiled, shirty (chiefly British), sore, steamed up, steaming, teed off, ticked, wrathful, wroth, bent out of shape, blue in the face, going crook (Australia & New Zealand), hopping mad, hot under the collar, in a fume, in a huff, in a pet
    related: ranting, raving, stormy, boiling, bristling, bristly, burning, cross, huffy, passionate, seething, sizzling, smoldering, worked up, wrought (up), acrid, acrimonious, antagonistic, antipathetic, bitter, embittered, inimical, malevolent, piqued, rancorous, resentful, spiteful, vengeful, vindictive, virulent, vitriolic, antisocial, cold, cool, disagreeable, disapproving, distant, frigid, icy, ill-tempered, sorehead, sulky, unfriendly, unpleasant, aggravated, annoyed, bearish, bilious, cantankerous, churlish, crabby, cranky, dyspeptic, exasperated, fretful, fussy, grouchy, grumpy, ill-humored, inflammable, irascible, irritable, peevish, perturbed, petulant, put out, quick-tempered, snappish, testy, touchy, argumentative, belligerent, contentious, contrary, disputatious, ornery, pugnacious, quarrelsome, querulous
    opposite: angerless, delighted, pleased
    near: accepting, accommodating, obliging, agreeable, amenable, complaisant, amicable, cordial, friendly, content, happy, satisfied, empathetic, sympathetic, tolerant, understanding, calm, pacific, peaceable, placid, serene, tranquil, unembittered, affable, amiable, easygoing, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, kind, pleasant, sweet

Related Entry: Fit (in) (verb)

Fit (in) is a different word from Fit. The synonyms below are for fit (in), not for fit.

  1. as in go, stay

    similar: belong, go, place, stay

Related Entry: Hissy fit (noun)

Hissy fit is a different word from Fit. The synonyms below are for hissy fit, not for fit.

  1. an outburst or display of excited anger

    "the demanding diva had a major hissy fit when she had to wait for her trailer to be ready"

    similar: blowup, explosion, fireworks, fit, hissy (chiefly Southern & southern Midland), huff, scene, tantrum
    related: eruption, flare-up, outburst, storm, uproar, agitation, delirium, distraction, frenzy, furor, furore, fury, hysteria, rage, rampage, convulsion(s), paroxysm, seizure, spasm, upheaval, angriness, choler, indignation, irateness, ire, lividity, lividness, spleen, wrath, wrathfulness, reaction, rise, dander, temper, grouch, hump (British), pet, pouts, snit, sulk(s), sulkiness, sullenness

Related Entry: Have a fit (phrase)

Have a fit is a different word from Fit. The synonyms below are for have a fit, not for fit.

  1. to become very angry

    "The toddler had a fit when he was told he couldn't have candy for breakfast."

    similar: blow up, flare (up), flip (out) (slang), blow a gasket, blow one's cool, blow one's stack, blow one's top, fly into a rage, fly off the handle, forget oneself, go ballistic, hit the ceiling, hit the roof, lose one's cool, lose one's temper
    related: anger, fulminate, rage, rant, rave, snap, snarl, sputter, storm, tee off, vent, vituperate, bristle, burn, foam, fume, glare, glower, seethe, sizzle, smolder, steam, warm, burst, explode, flare (out), flash, inflame, madden
    opposite: calm (down), simmer down
    near: chill out (slang), cool (off or down), relax, hush, quiet (down)

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Fit

The most common words with a similar meaning to Fit:

Archaic: beseem
Chiefly Southern & southern Midland: hissy
befit, do, go, serve, suit, accord, agree, answer, check, chord, cohere, coincide, comport, conform, consist, correspond, dovetail, harmonize, jibe, rhyme, sort, square, tally, acclimate, acclimatize, accommodate, adapt, adjust, condition, doctor, edit, fashion, put, shape, tailor, equip, prepare, qualify, ready, season

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Fit

Words with the opposite meaning of Fit:

differ (from), disagree (with), improper, inapplicable, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, incongruous, indecent, infelicitous, malapropos, misbecoming, unapt, unbecoming, unbeseeming, unfit, unfitting, unhappy, unmeet, unseemly, unsuitable, wrong, flat-footed, half-baked, half-cocked, underprepared, unprepared, unready, impracticable, inoperable

Related Words for Fit

satisfy, suffice, function, work, match, parallel, align, line up, register, readapt, readjust, customize, gear, model, pattern, attune, correct, tune, establish, root, settle, acquaint, familiarize, orient, orientate, prime, rehearse, harden, inure, toughen

Near Antonyms of Fit

contradict, dispute, gainsay, negate, nullify, clash, conflict, jar, misadjust, arrest, relief, remission, incapable, inexpert, unskilled, unskillful, untrained, inadequate, intolerable, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, graceless, incorrect, indecorous, incompatible, uncongenial, decrepit, enfeebled, feeble, infirm

Word Forms of Fit

Inflections: fitter, fittest, fitted, fitting, fits

Derived words: fitly (adverb), fitter (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Fit

Middle English; akin to Middle English fitten

First known use: 14th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Fit

Words & Phrases Containing Fit

fit to be tied, fit to kill, fit as a fiddle, fit as a flea

Frequently Asked Questions about Fit

What does "Fit" mean?

"Fit" means acceptable from a particular viewpoint (as of competence or morality), proper. As an an adjective, a verb and a noun, it is defined as: acceptable from a particular viewpoint (as of competence or morality), proper. It has 14 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Fit"?

Other words for "Fit" include befit, beseem, do, go, serve, suit, accord and agree. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Fit" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Fit"?

There are 367 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Fit". Common alternatives include befit, beseem, do, go, serve, suit, accord, agree, answer and check.

What is the opposite of "Fit"?

Antonyms of "Fit" include differ (from), disagree (with), improper, inapplicable, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt and incongruous. Near antonyms include contradict, dispute, gainsay and negate.

How do you use "Fit" in a sentence?

Examples of "Fit" in a sentence: "we hardly know them, so for Christmas a simple card will fit"; "now that you've explained your absence to me, my records and the office's fit"; "I can undo the hem on these old culottes and fit them into a skirt".

Is "Fit" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Fit" can be used as an adjective, a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Fit" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A2-level word, "Fit" is typical of Cambridge A2 Key (KET), PTE Academic 30–42, TOEIC Listening & Reading 225+.

How do you pronounce "Fit"?

"Fit" is pronounced /ˈfit/.