- 1 a set of clothes made of the same cloth, including a jacket and trousers/pants or a skirt a business suit a pinstripe suit a two-/three-piece suit (= of two/three pieces of clothing) see also dinner suit, jumpsuit, leisure suit, lounge suit, sailor suit, shell suit, sweatsuit, tracksuit, trouser suit Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivedesigner, elegant, immaculate, … suit + nouncoat, jacket, pants, … prepositionin a suit phrasesa suit and tie, a suit of armour/armor, a suit of clothes, … See full entry See related entries: Clothes
- 2 a set of clothing worn for a particular activity a diving suit a suit of armour see also boiler suit, spacesuit, swimsuit, wetsuit Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivedesigner, elegant, immaculate, … suit + nouncoat, jacket, pants, … prepositionin a suit phrasesa suit and tie, a suit of armour/armor, a suit of clothes, … See full entry
- 3any of the four sets that form a pack / deck of cards The suits are called hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades. Wordfindercardace, card, cut, deal, gambling, hand, jack, shuffle, suit, trump See related entries: Card games
- 4= lawsuit to file/bring a suit against somebody a divorce suit see also paternity suit Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivecivil, class-action, paternity, … verb + suitbring, file, be involved in, … prepositionin a/the suit, suit against, suit over, … See full entry
- 5[usually plural] (informal) a person with an important job as a manager in a company or organization, especially one thought of as being mainly concerned with financial matters or as having a lot of influence We can leave the detailed negotiations to the suits. He’s a ‘suit’, not a ‘creative’. Word OriginMiddle English: from Anglo-Norman French siwte, from a feminine past participle of a Romance verb based on Latin sequi ‘follow’. Early senses included ‘attendance at a court’ and ‘legal process’; senses (1) to (3) derive from an earlier meaning ‘set of things to be used together’. The verb sense ‘make appropriate’ dates from the late 16th cent.Extra examples All the cards have to be from the same suit. He wore his one good suit to the interview. His parents had bought him a new suit of clothes for the occasion. She plans to defend the suit vigorously. The cavalry wore a suit of light armour and carried a shield. The company now faces several suits over its failure to protect its employees. The suit changed to diamonds. The two companies have settled the suit. They have agreed to drop their suit against the Dutch company. They won’t let you into the restaurant without a suit and tie. Two men in suits came out of the hotel. We bought the baby a couple of suits of clothes. Which suit is trumps? a suit against her former husband a suit over a disputed estate His former business associate filed a suit against him claiming £5 million damages. Their arguments grew worse and worse and ended with a divorce suit.Idioms
- 1(in card games) to play a card of the same suit that has just been played
- 2to act or behave in the way that somebody else has just done
noun jump to other results
BrE BrE//suːt//, also BrE//sjuːt//; NAmE NAmE//suːt//
Card games, Clothes
to be a subject that somebody knows a lot about I'm afraid geography is not my strong suit.
(humorous) not wearing any clothes
Check pronunciation: suit
