QUIT (quitted, quitting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: quitted    , quitting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does quit mean? 

• QUIT (verb)
  The verb QUIT has 5 senses:

1. put an end to a state or an activity

2. give up or retire from a position

3. go away or leave

4. turn away from; give up

5. give up in the face of defeat of lacking hope; admit defeat

  Familiarity information: QUIT used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• QUIT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they quit    ... he / she / it quits   
Past simple: quit    / quitted   
Past participle: quit    / quitted   
-ing form: quitting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put an end to a state or an activity

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

cease; discontinue; give up; lay off; quit; stop

Context example:

Quit teasing your little brother

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "quit"):

drop; knock off (stop pursuing or acting)

leave off (stop using)

sign off (cease broadcasting; get off the air; as of radio stations)

retire; withdraw (withdraw from active participation)

pull the plug (prevent from happening or continuing)

close off; shut off (stem the flow of)

cheese (used in the imperative (get away, or stop it))

call it a day; call it quits (stop doing what one is doing)

break (give up)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Sentence example:

They quit moving

Sense 2

Meaning:

Give up or retire from a position

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

leave office; quit; resign; step down

Context example:

The chairman resigned over the financial scandal

Hypernyms (to "quit" is one way to...):

depart; leave; pull up stakes (remove oneself from an association with or participation in)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "quit"):

fall (lose office or power)

top out (give up one's career just as one becomes very successful)

retire (go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position)

give up; renounce; resign; vacate (leave (a job, post, or position) voluntarily)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Go away or leave

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

depart; quit; take leave

Hypernyms (to "quit" is one way to...):

go away; go forth; leave (go away from a place)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "quit"):

congee (depart after obtaining formal permission)

beat a retreat (depart hastily)

plump out (depart suddenly)

break camp; decamp (leave a camp)

walk out of (leave, usually as an expression of disapproval)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Turn away from; give up

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

foreswear; quit; relinquish; renounce

Context example:

I am foreswearing women forever

Hypernyms (to "quit" is one way to...):

abandon; give up (give up with the intent of never claiming again)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "quit"):

disclaim (renounce a legal claim or title to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 5

Meaning:

Give up in the face of defeat of lacking hope; admit defeat

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

chuck up the sponge; drop by the wayside; drop out; fall by the wayside; give up; quit; throw in; throw in the towel

Context example:

In the second round, the challenger gave up

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

quitter (a person who gives up too easily)

 Context examples 

You shall; and, to be brief, when I quitted Barton last October,—but this will give you no idea—I must go farther back.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Perhaps he had quitted the field, had given Louisa up, had ceased to love, had found he did not love her.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

It was three months, full three months, since her quitting it, and the change was from winter to summer.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Quitting smoking is the most important step you can take to treat COPD.

(COPD, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

I quitted my seat, and walked on, although the darkness and storm increased every minute, and the thunder burst with a terrific crash over my head.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

"What are you quitting for?" Martin demanded.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Half a mile farther this opened into another broad road, and the trail turned hard to the right in the direction of the town, which we had just quitted.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"I'll investigate. You're not a bit more anxious to quit than I am."

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

It is not yet known whether electronic cigarettes are safe or if they can be used to help smokers quit smoking.

(Electronic cigarette, NCI Dictionary)

When the gloves were bought, and they had quitted the shop again, “Did you ever hear the young lady we were speaking of, play?” said Frank Churchill.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)