fitting
See also: Fitting
English
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfɪtɪŋ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈfɪtɪŋ/, [-ɾɪŋ]
Audio (General American); [ˈfɪɾɪŋ]: (file) - Rhymes: -ɪtɪŋ
- Hyphenation: fit‧ting
Etymology 1
[edit]From fit (“to conform to in shape or size; to be suitable for”, verb) + -ing (suffix forming present participles of verbs, and gerunds and nouns denoting the act of doing something or the embodiment of an action).[1][2]
Adjective
[edit]fitting (comparative more fitting, superlative most fitting)
- That fits.
- Chiefly preceded by a descriptive adverb or noun: that fits in some manner (often closely) to the shape or size of something.
- 1866, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter VII, in Felix Holt, the Radical […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, page 222:
- Certainly, in her well-fitting light-blue dress— […] she was a remarkable Cinderella.
- (figurative) Appropriate, suitable, proper.
- Synonyms: becoming, condign (formal), fit, seemly; see also Thesaurus:suitable
- Antonyms: unfitting; see also Thesaurus:unsuitable
- c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene vi], page 21, column 2:
- O my ſvveet ſir, nevves fitting to the night, / Blacke, fearefull, comfortleſſe, and horrible.
- 1764 December 24 (indicated as 1765), Onuphrio Muralto, translated by William Marshal [pseudonyms; Horace Walpole], chapter III, in The Castle of Otranto, […], London: […] Tho[mas] Lownds […], →OCLC, page 122:
- Though all your actions are noble, though your ſentiments ſpeak the purity of your ſoul, is it fitting that I ſhould accompany you alone into theſe perplexed retreats? ſhould vve be found together, vvhat vvould a cenſorious vvorld think of my conduct?
- 1825, Robert Southey, “Canto I”, in A Tale of Paraguay, London: […] [A[ndrew] & R[obert] Spottiswoode] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, […], →OCLC, stanza 26, page 32:
- Cast with him here in this forlorn estate, / In all things for the man she was a fitting mate.
- 1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is Opened”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 712:
- The last regular steam-hauled passenger train between Glasgow and Helensburgh Central was given a fitting send-off from Queen Street Low Level at 11.2 p.m. on Friday, November 4.
- 2011 December 10, David Ornstein, “Arsenal 1 – 0 Everton”, in BBC Sport[1], archived from the original on 1 May 2023:
- It was a fitting scoreline on the club's landmark anniversary, and appropriate that [Robin] Van Persie should get the winner.
- 2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The A.V. Club[2], archived from the original on 6 August 2020:
- And really, Michael Jackson is a more fitting aspiration for the similarly sexless would-be-former teen heartthrob, who’s compared himself to the late King Of Pop (perhaps a bit prematurely) on several occasions and sings in a Jackson-like croon over a sample of “We’ve Got A Good Thing Going” on Believe’s “Die In Your Arms.”
- 2023 March 8, Paul Salveson, “Fond Farewells to Two Final Trains …”, in Rail, number 978, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 54:
- The L&YR built a small number of these trains, known as 'Rail Motors', for rural branch lines. It was only fitting that the Horwich branch should have its own.
- Chiefly preceded by a descriptive adverb or noun: that fits in some manner (often closely) to the shape or size of something.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]that fits in some manner to the shape or size of something
appropriate, suitable — see also appropriate, suitable, adequate, apt, convenient, favorable, opportune
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Noun
[edit]fitting (countable and uncountable, plural fittings)
- (countable) gerund of fit: an act of making something fit (“conform in shape and size; be suitable for; etc.”).
- curve fitting
- 1829, [Frederick Marryat], chapter IV, in The Naval Officer; or, Scenes and Adventures in the Life of Frank Mildmay. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 96:
- As soon as we received our orders to proceed to Spithead, Mr. Somerville, who had kept his house at Blackheath while the ship was fitting, in hopes that my promotion might have taken place before she was ready, now prepared to quit the place.
- 1886, John Ruskin, “Schaffhausen and Milan”, in Præterita. Outlines of Scenes and Thoughts Perhaps Worthy of Memory in My Past Life, volume I, Orpington, Kent: George Allen, →OCLC, page 179:
- [T]he fitting of cushions where they would not slip, the rounding of corners for more delicate repose; […] the perfect fitting of windows, on which one-half the comfort of a travelling carriage really depends; […] —all this was an imaginary journey in itself, with every pleasure, and none of the discomfort, of practical travelling.
- (manufacturing, mechanical engineering)
- (countable) A (generally small) component or part of a device or machine, especially one that is standardized and replaceable; specifically, a standardized part of a piping system used to connect sections of pipe together, such as a coupling.
- (uncountable) The process of fitting up; especially, of applying skilled methods to the installation of components to machines or other products.
- (countable, chiefly UK, often in the plural) A removable item (such as a carpet, a movable piece of furniture, or a picture) in a house or other building, which can be taken with one when moving out.
- Synonym: (US) furnishing
- Antonym: fixture
- the fittings of a church or study
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]act of making something fit
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act of trying on an item of clothing to adjust or inspect how well it fits
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component or part of a device or machine, especially one that is standardized and replaceable
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standardized part of a piping system used to connect sections of pipe together
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process of fitting up
removable item in a house or other building
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Verb
[edit]fitting
- present participle and gerund of fit
Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology 2
[edit]From fit (“to suffer a fit (‘convulsion, seizure’)”, verb) + -ing (suffix forming gerunds and nouns denoting the act of doing something or the embodiment of an action).[3]
Noun
[edit]fitting (uncountable)
- gerund of fit: the action or condition of having one or more fits (“convulsions or seizures”).
- Since her medication was changed, her fitting has got worse.
Translations
[edit]action or condition of having one or more fits
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References
[edit]- ^ “fitting, adj.”, in OED Online
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2025; “fitting, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ “fitting, n.1”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2025; “fitting, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ “fitting, n.2”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2025.
Further reading
[edit]
fitting (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Categories:
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɪtɪŋ
- Rhymes:English/ɪtɪŋ/2 syllables
- English terms suffixed with -ing (participial)
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English gerunds
- en:Clothing
- en:Manufacturing
- en:Mechanical engineering
- British English
- English non-lemma forms
- English verb forms
- English terms suffixed with -ing (gerund noun)