Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Brit

//bɹɪt// adj, name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Abbreviation of British. abbreviation, alt-of
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Abbreviation of Britain. abbreviation, alt-of

    "If Brit joins Common Market . . .; terms for Brit's entry agreed upon, U S will face new econ, political, defense problems when Brit joins EEC; […]"

  2. 2
    Abbreviation of British English. abbreviation, alt-of
  3. 3
    A short river in Dorset, England, which flows through Bridport to the sea at West Bay; in full, the River Brit.
Noun
  1. 1
    A British person. informal
  2. 2
    One of the young of herrings, sprats, etc.
  3. 3
    brit milah
  4. 4
    minute crustaceans forming food for right whales wordnet
  5. 5
    A Brit Award, a prize for musicians in Britain.
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    One of the tiny crustaceans, of the genus Calanus, that are part of the diet of right whales.

    "The edges of these bones are fringed with hairy fibres, through which the Right Whale strains the water, and in whose intricacies he retains the small fish, when openmouthed he goes through the seas of brit in feeding time."

  2. 7
    the young of a herring or sprat or similar fish wordnet
  3. 8
    a native or inhabitant of Great Britain wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To break in pieces; divide. transitive
  2. 2
    To bruise; indent. transitive
  3. 3
    To fall out or shatter (as overripe hops or grain). intransitive
  4. 4
    To fade away; alter. dialectal, intransitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

1901, either a shortening of Britisher or Briton, or a back-formation from British.

Etymology 2

1901, either a shortening of Britisher or Briton, or a back-formation from British.

Etymology 3

1901, either a shortening of Britisher or Briton, or a back-formation from British.

Etymology 4

From Middle English brytten, brutten, from Old English brittian, bryttian (“to divide, dispense, distribute, rule over, possess, enjoy the use of”), from Proto-Germanic *brutjaną (“to break, divide”), from Proto-Germanic *breutaną (“to destroy, crush, break”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewd- (“to break”). Cognate with Icelandic brytja (“to chop up, break in pieces, slaughter”), Swedish bryta (“to break, fracture, cut off”), Danish bryde (“to break”), and outside the Germanic family with Albanian brydh (“I make crumbly, friable, soft”). Related to Old English brytta (“dispenser, giver, author, governor, prince”), Old English brēotan (“to break in pieces, hew down, demolish, destroy, kill”).

Etymology 5

Probably from Middle English bret or birt, applied to a different kind of fish. See bret.

Etymology 6

Short for brit milah.

See also for "brit"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: brit