Slit Meaning
/ˈslɪt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA narrow cut or opening; a slot.
nounThe vulva.
Sentence Examples
The police think that Tom was stabbed before his throat was slit.
Tom slit Mary's throat.
Her skirt has a slit on one side.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He used a sharp knife to ____ the bag open and steal the money inside.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The envelope had a small ____ in the corner, allowing us to see that there was a card inside.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English slitten, from Old English slītan, from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leyd- (“to tear, rend (cut apart), split apart”). Possibly cognate with Latin laed- (“to strike, hurt, injure”). Doublet of slite; also related to slice through French borrowing. Apparently unrelated to English slot, whose etymology, however, is uncertain.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue.[…]."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"[…]I twiſted my thighs, ſqueezed, and compreſs’d the lips of that virgin-ſlit[…]"
— 1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the First]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume I, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, pages 67–68:
"And slits the thin-spun life."
— 1637 (date written; published 1638), John Milton, “Lycidas”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He used a sharp knife to ____ the bag open and steal the money inside.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The envelope had a small ____ in the corner, allowing us to see that there was a card inside.