Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
quit. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
quit, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
quit in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
quit you have here. The definition of the word
quit will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
quit, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English quiten, quyten, from Anglo-Norman quitter, Old French quitter, from quitte (“acquitted, quit”), ultimately from Latin quietus.
Compare Dutch kwijten (“to quit”), German Low German quitten (“to quit”), German quitten, quittieren, Danish kvitte, Swedish qvitta, kvitta (“to quit, leave, set off”), Icelandic kvitta.
Adjective
quit (not comparable)
- (usually followed by of) Released from obligation, penalty, etc; free, clear, or rid.
1990, Claude de Bèze, translated by E. W. Hutchinson, 1688 revolution in Siam: the memoir of Father de Bèze, s.j, University Press, page 153:With mounting anger the King denounced the pair, both father and son, and was about to condemn them to death when his strength gave out. Faint and trembling he was unable to walk and the sword fell from his hands as he murmured: 'May the Protector of the Buddhist Faith grant me but seven more days grace of life to be quit of this disloyal couple, father and son'.
Verb
quit (third-person singular simple present quits, present participle quitting, simple past and past participle quit or quitted)
- (transitive, archaic) To pay (a debt, fine etc.).
1605, William Shakespeare, (Please provide the book title or journal name):Enkindle all the sparks of nature
To quit this horrid act.
1600, [Torquato Tasso], “(please specify |book=1 to 20)”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. , London: Ar Hatfield, for I Iaggard and M Lownes, →OCLC:that judge that quits each soul his hire
- (transitive, obsolete) To repay (someone) for (something).
1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter XIV, in Le Morte Darthur, book II:I was but late att a Iustynge
and there I Iusted with a knyghte that is broder vnto kynge Pellam
and twyes smote I hym doune
& thenne he promysed to quyte me on my best frynde
and so he wounded my sone that can not be hole tyll I haue of that knyghtes blood- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.:
- But if that I knewe what his name hight,
For clatering of me I would him ſone quight;
For his falſe lying, of that I ſpake never,
I could make him ſhortly repent him forever:
- (transitive, obsolete) To repay, pay back (a good deed, injury etc.).
1613, John Marston, William Barksted, The Insatiate Countess, III.2:Forgive me, Rogero: 'tis my fate
To love thy friend and quit thy love with hate.
- (reflexive, archaic) To conduct or acquit (oneself); to behave (in a specified way).
1611, The Holy Bible, (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, 1 Samuel 4:9:Be strong and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, .”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: J. M for John Starkey , →OCLC, page 98, lines 1710–1711:Samſon hath quit himſelf
Like Samſon,
- (transitive, archaic) To carry through; to go through to the end.
- 1595-1609, Samuel Daniel, Civil Wars
- Never worthy prince a day did quit
With greater hazard and with more renown.
- (transitive) To set at rest; to free, as from anything harmful or oppressive; to relieve; to clear; to liberate.
1688, William Wake, Preparation for Death:To quit you […] of this fear, […] you have already lookt Death in the face; what have you found so terrible in it?
- (transitive) To release from obligation, accusation, penalty, etc.; to absolve; to acquit.
1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, .”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: J. M for John Starkey , →OCLC, page 36, line 510:God will relent, and quit thee all his debt;
- (transitive) To abandon, renounce (a thing).
- (transitive) To leave (a place).
1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A Millar, , →OCLC:Jones had no sooner quitted the room, than the petty-fogger, in a whispering tone, asked Mrs Whitefield, “If she knew who that fine spark was?”
1865, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, page 33:He quitted the lake on the 23rd of September, and on the 4th of October arrived at Queenstown, on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, having succeded in finding a transitable route.
1912, Edward Stanley Poole, transl., The Thousand and One Nights:The lions, if they left not the forest, would capture no prey; and the arrow, if it quitted not the bow, would not strike the mark.
1943 January and February, Chas. S. Lake, “Some C.M.Es. I Have Known: IV—H. A. Ivatt”, in Railway Magazine, page 32:At Malta the chief engineer of the ship, who always had been a good friend of mine, urged me to quit the sea; "otherwise," he said, "if you stay too long, you may, like myself, be condemned to wander about the world all your life and see your home only occasionally."
- (transitive, intransitive) To resign from (a job, office, position, etc.).
After having to work overtime without being paid, I quit my job.
- (transitive, intransitive) To stop, give up (an activity) (usually + gerund or verbal noun).
John is planning to quit smoking.
- (transitive, computing) To close (an application).
Usage notes
- The usual past tense of quit is now quit in most senses, although dictionaries may allow quitted as an alternative. Quitted is most commonly used to mean "departed", e.g., "Caesar quitted the neighborhood of Rome, and made for Campania with three legions."
Conjugation
Quotations
Derived terms
Translations
to leave
- Bulgarian: напускам (bg) (napuskam), зарязвам (bg) (zarjazvam)
- Catalan: sortir (ca), eixir (ca)
- Central Atlas Tamazight: fel
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 走 (zh) (zǒu), 離開/离开 (zh) (líkāi)
- Czech: opustit (cs)
- Dutch: verlaten (nl)
- Esperanto: forlasi
- Finnish: lähteä (fi), poistua (fi), jättää (fi)
- French: quitter (fr)
- German: verlassen (de)
- Hindi: छोड़ना (hi) (choṛnā)
- Hungarian: otthagy (hu)
- Italian: lasciare (it)
- Japanese: 去る (ja) (さる, saru)
- Maori: whakatahi
- Marathi: सोडून जाणे (soḍūn jāṇe)
- Moroccan Amazigh: ⴼⵍ (fl)
- Portuguese: sair (pt), abandonar (pt)
- Romanian: pleca (ro), lăsa (ro), părăsi (ro)
- Russian: уходи́ть (ru) impf (uxodítʹ), уйти́ (ru) pf (ujtí)
- Scottish Gaelic: falbh
- Slovene: zapustiti (sl)
- Spanish: salir (es), abandonar (es), dejar (es)
- Swedish: lämna (sv)
- Telugu: వదలివెళ్ళు (vadaliveḷḷu)
- Thai: ออก (th) (ɔ̀ɔk)
- Ukrainian: іти́ (uk) impf (itý), йти́ (uk) impf (jtý), піти́ pf (pitý)
- Urdu: چھوڑنا (choṛnā)
- Yiddish: אַוועקוואַרפֿן (avekvarfn)
|
to give up, stop doing something
- Arabic: تَخَلَّى عَن (taḵallā ʕan), تَوَقَّفَ (tawaqqafa), حَبَسَ (ar) (ḥabasa)
- Moroccan Arabic: حبس (ḥbas), صهر (ṣhar)
- Armenian: please add this translation if you can
- Azerbaijani: tərgitmək
- Bulgarian: спирам (bg) (spiram), преставам (bg) (prestavam)
- Catalan: deixar (ca), aturar (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 放棄/放弃 (zh) (fàngqì)
- Czech: přestat (cs), skončit (cs)
- Dutch: ophouden met (nl), stoppen met (nl), opgeven (nl)
- Esperanto: ĉesi (eo), rezigni
- Finnish: lopettaa (fi), lakata (fi), luovuttaa (fi), luopua (fi)
- French: arrêter (fr), abandonner (fr)
- Georgian: please add this translation if you can
- German: aufhören (de), aufgeben (de), sein lassen
- Guaraní: poi
- Hungarian: abbahagy (hu)
- Italian: smettere (it), abbandonare (it)
- Japanese: 止める (ja) (yameru)
- Khmer: លះបង់ (km) (leah bɑŋ), ឈប់ (km) (cʰup)
- Korean: 그만두다 (ko) (geumanduda)
- Latin: linquo
- Maori: whakamutu
- Marathi: सोडणे (soḍṇe)
- Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
- Norwegian: slutte (no)
- Portuguese: parar (pt), desistir (pt)
- Russian: броса́ть (ru) impf (brosátʹ), бро́сить (ru) pf (brósitʹ)
- Scottish Gaelic: sguir de
- Slovene: končati (sl), nehati, obupati
- Spanish: dejar (es), parar (es)
- Swedish: sluta (sv), sluta upp (sv), upphöra (sv), höra upp
- Telugu: వదలిపెట్టు (te) (vadalipeṭṭu), వదులుకొను (vadulukonu)
- Thai: เลิก (th) (lə̂ək)
- Turkish: bırakmak (tr)
- Ukrainian: залиша́ти impf (zalyšáty), залиши́ти pf (zalyšýty), зали́шити pf (zalýšyty), полиша́ти impf (polyšáty), полиши́ти pf (polyšýty), поли́шити pf (polýšyty)
- Vietnamese: bỏ (vi)
|
to resign
- Arabic: please add this translation if you can
- Armenian: please add this translation if you can
- Bulgarian: напускам (bg) (napuskam)
- Catalan: dimitir (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 辭去/辞去 (zh) (cíqù), 辭職/辞职 (zh) (cízhí)
- Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
- Finnish: ottaa lopputili, erota (fi)
- French: démissionner (fr)
- German: kündigen (de)
- Greek: παραιτούμαι (el) (paraitoúmai)
- Hebrew: התפטר (he) m (hitpatér), פרש (he) m (parásh)
- Hungarian: felmond (hu)
- Italian: licenziarsi (it), dimettersi (it)
- Japanese: 辞任する (ja) (じにんする, jinin suru), 辞職する (ja) (じしょくする, jishoku suru), 辞める (ja) (やめる, yameru)
- Khmer: ឈប់ពីតំណែង (cʰup pii tɑmnaeŋ)
- Maori: rīhaina
- Portuguese: desempregar-se, demitir-se, despedir-se
- Romanian: demisiona (ro)
- Russian: увольня́ться (ru) impf (uvolʹnjátʹsja), уво́литься (ru) pf (uvólitʹsja)
- Spanish: dimitir (es), renunciar (es), dejarlo
- Swedish: sluta (sv)
- Thai: ลาออก (th) (laa-ɔ̀ɔk)
- Turkish: istifa etmek (tr)
- Ukrainian: звільня́тися impf (zvilʹnjátysja), звільни́тися pf (zvilʹnýtysja)
- Vietnamese: từ chức (vi), bỏ việc
|
(computing) to close an application
Translations to be checked
References
Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, Cambridge University Press, p. 453.
Etymology 2
Probably of imitative origin.
Noun
quit (plural quits)
- Any of numerous species of small passerine birds native to tropical America.
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
French
Verb
quit
- third-person singular past historic of quérir
Latin
Verb
quit
- third-person singular present active indicative of queō
Old French
Verb
quit
- first-person singular present indicative of quidier