Pit vs. Pitted — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on May 19, 2024
Pit refers to a large hole or cavity, while pitted means marked with small indentations or having had the pits removed.
Difference Between Pit and Pitted
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Pit describes a large hole in the ground or a central seed of a fruit. It can also refer to a concave area or a place of excavation. Pitted, on the other hand, refers to surfaces marked with small indentations, such as pockmarks or scars. It can also mean that the pits or seeds have been removed from fruit.
A pit, in its common use, can be a large excavation in the earth, such as a mining pit or a gravel pit. It can also describe the hard stone found inside fruits like cherries or peaches. Pitted describes a texture that is uneven due to many small holes or marks. This term is often used for objects or surfaces that have been corroded or scarred.
When discussing fruits, a pit is the seed found inside the fruit, whereas pitted describes the condition of the fruit after the seed has been removed. For example, olives and cherries can be sold pitted, meaning they have had their central seed taken out.
The term pit often suggests a singular, larger hole, while pitted indicates a surface that has multiple smaller indentations or has undergone a process to remove pits. In automotive or metal contexts, pitted can refer to the surface condition resulting from corrosion or wear.
Comparison Chart
Definition
A large hole or cavity; a fruit seed
Marked with small indentations; having pits removed
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Usage Context
Excavation sites, fruit stones
Surface texture, prepared fruit
Physical Form
Single large hole or seed
Many small holes or the absence of seeds
Examples
Mining pit, peach pit
Pitted surface, pitted olives
Implication
Central cavity or core
Uneven texture or processed state
Compare with Definitions
Pit
Seed of a fruit.
Be careful not to bite into the peach pit.
Pitted
Marked with small indentations.
The old road was pitted with potholes.
Pit
Concave area or cavity.
The car's tire got stuck in a deep pit.
Pitted
Corroded or worn surface.
The metal pipe was badly pitted from rust.
Pit
Place of excavation.
The workers descended into the mining pit.
Pitted
Surface with pockmarks.
His face was pitted with scars from acne.
Pit
Depression or hollow.
The ancient ruins had a ceremonial pit in the center.
Pitted
Having pits removed (fruit).
She bought pitted cherries for the pie.
Pit
A large hole in the ground.
Pitted
Showing signs of wear.
The ancient statue's surface was pitted and weathered.
Pit
A hollow or indentation in a surface.
Pitted
Marked by pits.
Pit
An area at the side of a track where racing cars are serviced and refuelled
He had a flat tyre when he came into the pits
The pit lane
Pitted
Having the pit removed
Pitted dates.
Pit
An orchestra pit.
Pitted
Simple past tense and past participle of pit
Pit
A part of the floor of a stock exchange in which a particular stock or commodity is traded
The trading pit of the Singapore International Monetary Exchange
Pooled commodity funds liquidated positions in the corn and soybean pits
Pitted
Having a surface marked by pits; pockmarked or alveolate
Pit
An enclosure in which animals are made to fight
A bear pit
Pitted
(of fruit) Having had the pits removed
Pit
A person's bed.
Pitted
Provided with one or more inspection pits.
Pit
A person's armpit.
Pitted
Having minute thin spots; as, pitted ducts in the vascular parts of vegetable tissue.
Pit
The stone of a fruit.
Pitted
Pitted with cell-like cavities (as a honeycomb)
Pit
Set someone or something in conflict or competition with
You'll get the chance to pit your wits against the world champions
Pit
Make a hollow or indentation in the surface of
Rain poured down, pitting the bare earth
Pit
Drive a racing car into the pits for fuel or maintenance
He pitted on lap 36 with sudden engine trouble
Pit
Remove the pit from (fruit).
Pit
A natural or artificial hole or cavity in the ground.
Pit
An excavation for the removal of mineral deposits; a mine.
Pit
The shaft of a mine.
Pit
A concealed hole in the ground used as a trap; a pitfall.
Pit
A small indentation in a surface
Pits in a windshield.
Pit
A natural hollow or depression in the body or an organ.
Pit
A small indented scar left in the skin by smallpox or other eruptive disease; a pockmark.
Pit
(Zoology) Either of a pair of depressions between the nostril and the eye of a pit viper that contain heat-sensing organs.
Pit
(Botany) A cavity in the wall of a plant cell where there is no secondary wall, as in fibers, tracheids, and vessel elements.
Pit
(Informal) An armpit.
Pit
An enclosed, usually sunken area in which animals, such as dogs or gamecocks, are placed for fighting.
Pit
The section directly in front of and below the stage of a theater, in which the musicians sit.
Pit
Chiefly British The ground floor of a theater behind the stalls.
Pit
The section of an exchange where trading in a specific commodity is carried on.
Pit
The gambling area of a casino.
Pit
A sunken area in a garage floor from which mechanics may work on cars.
Pit
Often pits(Sports) An area beside an auto racecourse where cars may be refueled or serviced during a race
Pulled into the pits to have the tires rotated.
Pit
Hell. Used with the.
Pit
A miserable or depressing place or situation.
Pit
Pits(Slang) The worst. Used with the
"New York politics are the pits" (Washington Star).
Pit
(Football) The middle areas of the defensive and offensive lines.
Pit
The single central kernel or stone of certain fruits, such as a peach or cherry.
Pit
To mark with cavities, depressions, or scars
A surface pitted with craters.
Pit
To set in direct opposition or competition
A war that pitted brother against brother.
Pit
To place, bury, or store in a pit.
Pit
To become marked with pits.
Pit
To retain an impression after being indented. Used of the skin.
Pit
To stop at a refueling area during an auto race.
Pit
To extract the pit from (a fruit).
Pit
A hole in the ground.
The meadow around the town is full of old pits.
Pit
(motor racing) An area at a racetrack used for refueling and repairing the vehicles during a race.
Two drivers have already gone into the pit this early in the race.
Pit
(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.
Pit
A mine.
Pit
(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.
Pit
(trading) A trading pit.
Pit
The bottom part of something.
I felt pain in the pit of my stomach.
Pit
(colloquial) Armpit.
Pit
(aviation) A luggage hold.
Pit
(countable) A small surface hole or depression, a fossa.
Pit
The indented mark left by a pustule, as in smallpox.
Pit
The grave, underworld or Hell.
Pit
An enclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats.
Pit
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.
Pit
(gambling) Part of a casino which typically holds tables for blackjack, craps, roulette, and other games.
Pit
(slang) A mosh pit.
Because the museum was closed for renovation, the school decided to bring its fourth-graders to the pit at a Cannibal Corpse gig instead.
Pit
(American football) The center of the line.
Pit
(hospital slang) The emergency department.
Pit
A bed.
Pit
(informal) An undesirable location, especially an unclean one.
This house is a total pit. We've got to get out of here!
Get back to the pit, dish bitch!
Pit
A seed inside a fruit; a stone or pip inside a fruit.
Pit
A shell in a drupe containing a seed.
Pit
(military) The core of an implosion nuclear weapon, consisting of the fissile material and any neutron reflector or tamper bonded to it.
Pit
(informal) A pit bull terrier.
Pit
(transitive) To make pits in; to mark with little hollows.
Exposure to acid rain pitted the metal.
Pit
(transitive) To put (an animal) into a pit for fighting.
Pit
(transitive) To bring (something) into opposition with something else.
Are you ready to pit your wits against one of the world's greatest puzzles?
Pit
To return to the pits during a race for refuelling, tyre changes, repairs etc.
Pit
(transitive) To remove the stone from a stone fruit or the shell from a drupe.
One must pit a peach to make it ready for a pie.
Pit
A large cavity or hole in the ground, either natural or artificial; a cavity in the surface of a body; an indentation
Tumble me into some loathsome pit.
Pit
Any abyss; especially, the grave, or hades.
Back to the infernal pit I drag thee chained.
He keepth back his soul from the pit.
Pit
A covered deep hole for entrapping wild beasts; a pitfall; hence, a trap; a snare. Also used figuratively.
The anointed of the Lord was taken in their pits.
Pit
A depression or hollow in the surface of the human body
Pit
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.
Pit
An inclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats.
Pit
The endocarp of a drupe, and its contained seed or seeds; a stone; as, a peach pit; a cherry pit, etc.
Pit
To place or put into a pit or hole.
They lived like beasts, and were pitted like beasts, tumbled into the grave.
Pit
To mark with little hollows, as by various pustules; as, a face pitted by smallpox.
Pit
To introduce as an antagonist; to set forward for or in a contest; as, to pit one dog against another.
Pit
A sizeable hole (usually in the ground);
They dug a pit to bury the body
Pit
A concavity in a surface (especially an anatomical depression)
Pit
The hard inner (usually woody) layer of the pericarp of some fruits (as peaches or plums or cherries or olives) that contains the seed;
You should remove the stones from prunes before cooking
Pit
A trap in the form of a concealed hole
Pit
A surface excavation for extracting stone or slate;
A British term for `quarry' is `stone pit'
Pit
Lowered area in front of a stage where an orchestra accompanies the performers
Pit
A workplace consisting of a coal mine plus all the buildings and equipment connected with it
Pit
Set into opposition or rivalry;
Let them match their best athletes against ours
Pit a chess player against the Russian champion
He plays his two children off against each other
Pit
Mark with a scar;
The skin disease scarred his face permanently
Pit
Remove the pits from;
Pit plums and cherries
Pit
Large hole in the ground.
The children dug a pit in the backyard for their fort.
Common Curiosities
Can a fruit be pitted?
Yes, it means the fruit has had its seeds or pits removed.
What is an example of something pitted?
A pitted road or pitted olives.
What is a pit?
A large hole or cavity in the ground, or a seed of a fruit.
What does pitted mean?
Marked with small indentations or having had the pits removed.
Can a pit be natural or man-made?
Both; it can be a natural cavity or an excavation by humans.
What is an example of a pit?
A mining pit or a peach pit.
Can pitted be used in a positive context?
Yes, such as describing fruit that has had seeds removed for convenience.
Is a pit always a large hole?
Generally, yes, it refers to a significant cavity or depression.
Is pitted always related to fruit?
No, it can also describe surfaces with small indentations or marks.
Can pitted describe a damaged surface?
Yes, such as a metal surface pitted by corrosion.
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Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
