pit \pit\, n. oe. pit, put, as. pytt a pit, hole, l. puteus a
   well, pit.
   1. a large cavity or hole in the ground, either natural or
      artificial; a cavity in the surface of a body; an
      indentation; specifically:
      a the shaft of a coal mine; a coal pit.
      b a large hole in the ground from which material is dug
          or quarried; as, a stone pit; a gravel pit; or in
          which material is made by burning; as, a lime pit; a
          charcoal pit.
      c a vat sunk in the ground; as, a tan pit.
          1913 webster

                tumble me into some loathsome pit. --shak.
          1913 webster

   2. any abyss; especially, the grave, or hades.
      1913 webster

            back to the infernal pit i drag thee chained.
                                                  --milton.
      1913 webster

            he keepth back his soul from the pit. --job xxxiii.
                                                  18.
      1913 webster

   3. a covered deep hole for entrapping wild beasts; a pitfall;
      hence, a trap; a snare. also used figuratively.
      1913 webster

            the anointed of the lord was taken in their pits.
                                                  --lam. iv. 20.
      1913 webster

   4. a depression or hollow in the surface of the human body;
      as:
      a the hollow place under the shoulder or arm; the
          axilla, or armpit.
      b see pit of the stomach below.
      c the indentation or mark left by a pustule, as in
          smallpox.
          1913 webster

   5. formerly, that part of a theater, on the floor of the
      house, below the level of the stage and behind the
      orchestra; now, in england, commonly the part behind the
      stalls; in the united states, the parquet; also, the
      occupants of such a part of a theater.
      1913 webster

   6. an inclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other
      animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to
      kill rats. "as fiercely as two gamecocks in the pit."
      --locke.
      1913 webster

   7. cf. d. pit, akin to e. pith. bot.
      a the endocarp of a drupe, and its contained seed or
          seeds; a stone; as, a peach pit; a cherry pit, etc.
      b a depression or thin spot in the wall of a duct.
          1913 webster

   cold pit hort., an excavation in the earth, lined with
      masonry or boards, and covered with glass, but not
      artificially heated, -- used in winter for the storing and
      protection of half-hardly plants, and sometimes in the
      spring as a forcing bed.

   pit coal, coal dug from the earth; mineral coal.

   pit frame, the framework over the shaft of a coal mine.

   pit head, the surface of the ground at the mouth of a pit
      or mine.

   pit kiln, an oven for coking coal.

   pit martin zool., the bank swallow. prov. eng.

   pit of the stomach anat., the depression on the middle
      line of the epigastric region of the abdomen at the lower
      end of the sternum; the infrasternal depression.

   pit saw mech., a saw worked by two men, one of whom
      stands on the log and the other beneath it. the place of
      the latter is often in a pit, whence the name.

   pit stop, see pit stop in the vocabulary.

   pit viper zool., any viperine snake having a deep pit on
      each side of the snout. the rattlesnake and copperhead are
      examples.

   working pit min., a shaft in which the ore is hoisted and
      the workmen carried; -- in distinction from a shaft used
      for the pumps.
      1913 webster
see also:
pit of the stomach cold pit pit coal pit frame pit head pit kiln 
pit martin pit saw pit stop pit viper working pit 

pit viper
     n : new world vipers with hollow fangs and a heat-sensitive pit
         on each side of the head