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# wit

«wit» in Mova's school dictionary: **the ability to say clever and funny things quickly** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (wit, wits)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Wit is the ability to say clever and funny things quickly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#m1)

2) A wit is a person who is clever and funny with words. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#m2)

3) Wits (plural) are your ability to think clearly and quickly: «keep your wits about you». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#m3)

4) (old) «To wit» is an old, formal way of saying «that is to say» or «namely». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In English lessons, writers and characters show wit through puns, jokes and quick answers; Oscar Wilde was a famous wit. In safety lessons, «keep your wits about you» means stay alert. In olympiad and puzzle work, wit means quick, clever thinking. Phrases: «quick wit», «at your wits' end» (so worried you don't know what to do), «scared out of your wits», «battle of wits», «live on your wits».

### examples

- Her quick wit made the whole class laugh. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#x1)
- Oscar Wilde was a famous wit. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#x2)
- Keep your wits about you when crossing busy roads. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#x3)
- Mum was at her wits' end when the dog ran away. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#x4)
- The ghost story scared me out of my wits. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#x5)
- The puzzle was a real battle of wits. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#x6)
- (old, formal) There were three winners, to wit: Ava, Ben and Chloe. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#x7)
- Gathering his wits together, he said: [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/#x8)

### note

«Wit» (cleverness, uncountable) vs «wits» (your mind, plural). Apostrophe: «at your wits' end» (plural wits). Adjective: witty (funny and clever). «Witless» means stupid. Not the same as «with»: wit has no «h».

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «wit» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wit/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.