suit

[ soot ]

noun

1. a set of clothing, armor, or the like, intended for wear together.
2. a set of men's garments of the same color and fabric, consisting of trousers, a jacket, and sometimes a vest.
3. a similarly matched set consisting of a skirt and jacket, and sometimes a topcoat or blouse, worn by women.
4. any costume worn for some special activity:

   a running suit.

5. Often suits. Slang. an executive, manager, or official, especially one regarded as a faceless decision maker.
6. Law. the act, the process, or an instance of suing in a court of law; legal prosecution; lawsuit.
7. Cards.
   1. one of the four sets or classes (spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs) into which a common deck of playing cards is divided.
   2. the aggregate of cards belonging to one of these sets held in a player's hand at one time:

      Spades were his long suit.

   3. one of various sets or classes into which less common decks of cards are divided, as lances, hammers, etc., found in certain decks formerly used or used in fortune telling.
8. suite ( defs 1, 2, 3, 5 ).
9. the wooing or courting of a woman:

   She rejected his suit.

10. the act of making a petition or an appeal.
11. a petition, as to a person of rank or station.
12. Also called set. Nautical. a complete group of sails for a boat.
13. one of the seven classes into which a standard set of 28 dominoes may be divided by matching the numbers on half the face of each: a three suit contains the 3-blank, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5, and 3-6. Since each such suit contains one of each of the other possible suits, only one complete suit is available per game.

verb (used with object)

1. to make appropriate, adapt, or accommodate, as one thing to another:

   to suit the punishment to the crime.

2. to be appropriate or becoming to:

   Blue suits you very well.

3. to be or prove satisfactory, agreeable, or acceptable to; satisfy or please:

   The arrangements suit me.

4. to provide with a suit, as of clothing or armor; clothe; array.

verb (used without object)

1. to be appropriate or suitable; accord.
2. to be satisfactory, agreeable, or acceptable.

verb phrase

1. to dress in a uniform or special suit.

suit

/ suːt; sjuːt /

noun

1. any set of clothes of the same or similar material designed to be worn together, now usually (for men) a jacket with matching trousers or (for women) a jacket with matching or contrasting skirt or trousers
2. in combination any outfit worn for a specific purpose

   a spacesuit

3. any set of items, such as the full complement of sails of a vessel or parts of personal armour
4. any of the four sets of 13 cards in a pack of playing cards, being spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. The cards in each suit are two to ten, jack, queen, and king in the usual order of ascending value, with ace counting as either the highest or lowest according to the game
5. a civil proceeding; lawsuit
6. the act or process of suing in a court of law
7. a petition or appeal made to a person of superior rank or status or the act of making such a petition
8. slang.
   a business executive or white-collar manager
9. a man's courting of a woman
10. follow suit
    1. to play a card of the same suit as the card played immediately before it
    2. to act in the same way as someone else
11. strong suit or strongest suit
    something that one excels in

verb

1. to make or be fit or appropriate for

   that dress suits you

2. to meet the requirements or standards (of)
3. to be agreeable or acceptable to (someone)
4. suit oneself
   to pursue one's own intentions without reference to others

Derived Forms

• ˈsuitˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• suitlike adjective
• counter·suit noun
• re·suit noun verb (used with object)
• under·suit noun
• under·suit verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of suit¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English siute, sute, suite (noun), from Anglo-French, Old French, akin to sivre (modern French, suivre ) “to follow”; sue, suite

Word History and Origins

Origin of suit¹

C13: from Old French sieute set of things, from sivre to follow; compare sue

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. follow suit,
   1. Cards. to play a card of the same suit as that led.
   2. to follow the example of another:

      The girl jumped over the fence, and her playmates followed suit.

2. suit oneself, to do what one wants to do or what is best for oneself, without regard for others (often used imperatively):

   I don’t agree with you, but okay, suit yourself.

More idioms and phrases containing suit

• birthday suit
• empty suit
• follow suit
• long suit
• strong point (suit)

Example Sentences

A Levi’s bag that was almost like a suit bag is on the back of the chair — that was a great discovery, and the guy’s name was still on it.

From Los Angeles Times

That lawsuit, since settled, is separate from the suit brought by the 900 officers.

From Los Angeles Times

We want to play through the lines and ultimately get in behind so for me his principles suit me well.”

From BBC

"I love this golf course, it suits my eye so I feel like I could have a good week and have a good run. I would love to."

From BBC

The hair and the suits, and I remember Cuban heel boots, and they had these guitars that we’d never seen before … and then they started singing.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• costume
• dress
• ensemble
• tuxedo
• uniform
• wardrobe