Pin vs. Pit — What's the Difference?

In sports, to pin is to hold an opponent's shoulders on the ground.

A large hole in the ground either natural or man-made.

A small, pointed piece of metal used to fasten materials together.

In motor racing, the area where maintenance is performed during a race.

Used metaphorically to describe something precise or critical.

Refers to a part of a fruit containing the seed.

An essential tool in tailoring and sewing.

Symbolically, a situation of great difficulty or despair.

In technology, refers to a part of a connector or circuit.

Used in the context of extracting resources.

A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together, and can have three sorts of body: a shaft of a rigid inflexible material meant to be inserted in a slot, groove, or hole (as with pivots, hinges, and jigs); a shaft connected to a head and ending in a sharp tip meant to pierce one or more pieces of soft materials like cloth or paper (the straight or push pin); a single strip of a rigid but flexible material (e.g. a wire) whose length has been folded into parallel prongs in such fashion that the middle length of each curves towards the other so that, when anything is inserted between them, they act as a clamp (e.g.

A large hole in the ground.

An identifying number allocated to an individual by a bank or other organization and used for validating electronic transactions.

A hollow or indentation in a surface.

Attach or fasten with a pin or pins

An area at the side of a track where racing cars are serviced and refuelled

Hold (someone) firmly in a specified position so they are unable to move

An orchestra pit.

Hinder or prevent (a piece or pawn) from moving because of the danger to a more valuable piece standing behind it along the line of an attack

A part of the floor of a stock exchange in which a particular stock or commodity is traded

A short, straight, stiff piece of wire with a blunt head and a sharp point, used especially for fastening.

An enclosure in which animals are made to fight

Something, such as a safety pin, that resembles such a piece of wire in shape or use.

A person's bed.

A whit; a jot

A person's armpit.

A thin rod for securing the ends of fractured bones.

The stone of a fruit.

A peg for fixing the crown to the root of a tooth.

Set someone or something in conflict or competition with

A cotter pin.

Make a hollow or indentation in the surface of

The part of a key stem entering a lock.

Drive a racing car into the pits for fuel or maintenance

(Music) One of the pegs securing the strings and regulating their tension on a stringed instrument.

Remove the pit from (fruit).

(Nautical) A belaying pin.

A natural or artificial hole or cavity in the ground.

(Nautical) A thole pin.

An excavation for the removal of mineral deposits; a mine.

An ornament fastened to clothing by means of a clasp.

The shaft of a mine.

A rolling pin.

A concealed hole in the ground used as a trap; a pitfall.

One of the wooden clubs at which the ball is aimed in bowling.

A small indentation in a surface

A flagstick.

A natural hollow or depression in the body or an organ.

See fall.

A small indented scar left in the skin by smallpox or other eruptive disease; a pockmark.

Pins(Informal) The legs

(Zoology) Either of a pair of depressions between the nostril and the eye of a pit viper that contain heat-sensing organs.

(Electronics) A lead on a device that plugs into a socket to connect the device to a system.

(Botany) A cavity in the wall of a plant cell where there is no secondary wall, as in fibers, tracheids, and vessel elements.

Any of the pegs on the platen of a printer, which engage holes at the edges of paper.

(Informal) An armpit.

Any of the styluses that form a dot matrix on a printer.

An enclosed, usually sunken area in which animals, such as dogs or gamecocks, are placed for fighting.

Any of the small metal prongs at the end of a connector that fit into the holes in a port.

The section directly in front of and below the stage of a theater, in which the musicians sit.

To fasten or secure with or as if with a pin or pins.

Chiefly British The ground floor of a theater behind the stalls.

To transfix.

The section of an exchange where trading in a specific commodity is carried on.

To place in a position of trusting dependence

The gambling area of a casino.

To hold fast; immobilize

A sunken area in a garage floor from which mechanics may work on cars.

(Sports) To win a fall from in wrestling.

Often pits(Sports) An area beside an auto racecourse where cars may be refueled or serviced during a race

To give (a woman) a fraternity pin in token of attachment.

Hell. Used with the.

Having a grain suggestive of the heads of pins. Used of leather.

A miserable or depressing place or situation.

A needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening.

Pits(Slang) The worst. Used with the

A small nail with a head and a sharp point.

(Football) The middle areas of the defensive and offensive lines.

A cylinder often of wood or metal used to fasten or as a bearing between two parts.

The single central kernel or stone of certain fruits, such as a peach or cherry.

The victory condition of holding the opponent's shoulders on the wrestling mat for a prescribed period of time.

To mark with cavities, depressions, or scars

A slender object specially designed for use in a specific game or sport, such as skittles or bowling.

To set in direct opposition or competition

A leg.

To place, bury, or store in a pit.

(electricity) Any of the individual connecting elements of a multipole electrical connector.

To become marked with pits.

A piece of jewellery that is attached to clothing with a pin.

To retain an impression after being indented. Used of the skin.

(US) A simple accessory that can be attached to clothing with a pin or fastener, often round and bearing a design, logo or message, and used for decoration, identification or to show political affiliation, etc.

To stop at a refueling area during an auto race.

(chess) Either a scenario in which moving a lesser piece to escape from attack would expose a more valuable piece to being taken instead, or one where moving a piece is impossible as it would place the king in check.

To extract the pit from (a fruit).

(golf) The flagstick: the flag-bearing pole which marks the location of a hole

A hole in the ground.

(curling) The spot at the exact centre of the house (the target area)

(motor racing) An area at a racetrack used for refueling and repairing the vehicles during a race.

(archery) The spot at the exact centre of the target, originally a literal pin that fastened the target in place.

(music) A section of the marching band containing mallet percussion instruments and other large percussion instruments too large to march, such as the tam tam. Also, the area on the sidelines where these instruments are placed.

(obsolete) A mood, a state of being.

A mine.

One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each person should drink.

(archaeology) A hole or trench in the ground, excavated according to grid coordinates, so that the provenance of any feature observed and any specimen or artifact revealed may be established by precise measurement.

Caligo.

(trading) A trading pit.

A thing of small value; a trifle.

The bottom part of something.

A peg in musical instruments for increasing or relaxing the tension of the strings.

(colloquial) Armpit.

(engineering) A short shaft, sometimes forming a bolt, a part of which serves as a journal.

(aviation) A luggage hold.

The tenon of a dovetail joint.

(countable) A small surface hole or depression, a fossa.

A size of brewery cask, equal to half a firkin, or eighth of a barrel.

The indented mark left by a pustule, as in smallpox.

(informal) A pinball machine.

The grave, underworld or Hell.

(locksmithing) A small cylindrical object which blocks the rotation of a pin-tumbler lock when the incorrect key is inserted.

An enclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats.

(often followed by a preposition such as "to" or "on") To fasten or attach (something) with a pin.

Formerly, that part of a theatre, on the floor of the house, below the level of the stage and behind the orchestra; now, in England, commonly the part behind the stalls; in the United States, the parquet; also, the occupants of such a part of a theatre.

To cause (a piece) to be in a pin.

(gambling) Part of a casino which typically holds tables for blackjack, craps, roulette, and other games.

(wrestling) To pin down (someone).

(slang) A mosh pit.

To enclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.

(American football) The center of the line.

To attach (an icon, application, message etc.) to another item so that it persists.

(hospital slang) The emergency department.

To fix (an array in memory, a security certificate, etc.) so that it cannot be modified.

A bed.

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(informal) An undesirable location, especially an unclean one.

(transitive) To cause an analog gauge to reach the stop pin at the high end of the range.

A seed inside a fruit; a stone or pip inside a fruit.

To peen.

A shell in a drupe containing a seed.

To inclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.

(military) The core of an implosion nuclear weapon, consisting of the fissile material and any neutron reflector or tamper bonded to it.

To fasten with, or as with, a pin; to join; as, to pin a garment; to pin boards together.

(informal) A pit bull terrier.

A piece of wood, metal, etc., generally cylindrical, used for fastening separate articles together, or as a support by which one article may be suspended from another; a peg; a bolt.

(transitive) To make pits in; to mark with little hollows.

Especially, a small, pointed and headed piece of brass or other wire (commonly tinned), largely used for fastening clothes, attaching papers, etc.

(transitive) To put (an animal) into a pit for fighting.

Hence, a thing of small value; a trifle.

(transitive) To bring (something) into opposition with something else.

That which resembles a pin in its form or use

To return to the pits during a race for refuelling, tyre changes, repairs etc.

One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each man should drink.

(transitive) To remove the stone from a stone fruit or the shell from a drupe.

The bull's eye, or center, of a target; hence, the center.

A large cavity or hole in the ground, either natural or artificial; a cavity in the surface of a body; an indentation

Mood; humor.

Any abyss; especially, the grave, or hades.

Caligo. See Caligo.

A covered deep hole for entrapping wild beasts; a pitfall; hence, a trap; a snare. Also used figuratively.

An ornament, as a brooch or badge, fastened to the clothing by a pin; as, a Masonic pin.

A depression or hollow in the surface of the human body

The leg; as, to knock one off his pins.

Formerly, that part of a theater, on the floor of the house, below the level of the stage and behind the orchestra; now, in England, commonly the part behind the stalls; in the United States, the parquet; also, the occupants of such a part of a theater.

A piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment

An inclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats.

When a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat

The endocarp of a drupe, and its contained seed or seeds; a stone; as, a peach pit; a cherry pit, etc.

Small markers inserted into a surface to mark scores or define locations etc.

To place or put into a pit or hole.

A number you choose and use to gain access to various accounts

To mark with little hollows, as by various pustules; as, a face pitted by smallpox.

Informal terms of the leg;

To introduce as an antagonist; to set forward for or in a contest; as, to pit one dog against another.

Axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns

A sizeable hole (usually in the ground);

Cylindrical tumblers consisting of two parts that are held in place by springs; when they are aligned with a key the bolt can be thrown

A concavity in a surface (especially an anatomical depression)

Flagpole used to mark the position of the hole on a golf green

The hard inner (usually woody) layer of the pericarp of some fruits (as peaches or plums or cherries or olives) that contains the seed;

A small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things

A trap in the form of a concealed hole

A club-shaped wooden object used in bowling; set up in groups as a target

A surface excavation for extracting stone or slate;

To hold fast or prevent from moving;

Lowered area in front of a stage where an orchestra accompanies the performers

Attach or fasten with pins

A workplace consisting of a coal mine plus all the buildings and equipment connected with it

Pierce with a pin;

Set into opposition or rivalry;

Immobilize a piece

Mark with a scar;

Remove the pits from;

Pits can be naturally formed by geological processes or made by excavation.

Pins are most commonly made from metals like steel or brass.

Using pin cushions and keeping pins out of reach of children can mitigate safety risks.

Pits, especially those used for mining, can impact local ecosystems and water quality.

Pins have been used for thousands of years in fashion, decoration, and practical applications.

The type of fabric and the thickness of the pin should be considered to avoid damage.

Yes, pins are used in various mechanical applications to secure parts together.

Yes, there are stringent safety and environmental regulations governing pit operations, especially in mining.

Natural pits can create habitats for various wildlife, contributing to biodiversity.

Pits can affect local communities by altering landscapes, providing jobs, or causing environmental damage.

In track and field, sand pits are used for long jump and triple jump events.

In some cultures, pits are seen as dangerous or unlucky places due to their association with traps.

Pins are crucial in orthopedic surgery for securing broken bones in place during healing.

Safety pins and decorative pins like brooches are commonly used in jewelry.

Safety measures include structural reinforcements, regular inspections, and compliance with legal standards.