Meanings
nounarmpit (plural armpits)
plural armpits
- The cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder.
Unilever brought its Rexona deodorant to China a decade ago, dreaming of a market with 2.6 billion armpits.
2018 February 2, Owen Guo, “Aiming at China’s Armpits: When Foreign Brands Misfire”, in The New York Times1 more example
She stood a couple of feet away from me […] exposing an edge of brassière strap at her armpit―exposing the armpit itself, a muscular hollow shadowed with fine stubble and faintly streaked with talcum.
2009, Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger, Virago Press (2018), page 265Synonyms: underarm, axilla[anatomy]]>, pit, oxter[dialect]]al>, armhole[dialect]]al>
- colloquialderogatorySomewhere or something unpleasant or undesirable.
the armpit of America
Synonyms: butthole[vulgar]]>, asshole[vulgar]]>
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder.
nounSomewhere or something unpleasant or undesirable.
Similar
butthole[vulgar]]>asshole[vulgar]]>
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe hollow under the arm where it is joined to the shoulder
Similar
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englisharmpitt
- Englisharmpit
From Middle English armpitt, arme-pitt, armput, equivalent to arm + pit. (something unpleasant): Presumably a reference to underarm body odor.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek μασχάλη, μάλη
- μασχάλη (maskhálē)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- μάλη (málē)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Arabic إِبْط
- إِبْط (ʔibṭ)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Basque besape, galtzarbe
- besapethe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- galtzarbethe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Bengali বগল
- বগল (bogol)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Bulgarian подми́шница
- подми́шница (podmíšnica)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Catalan aixella, axil·la
- aixellathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- axil·lathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- sobacothe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Chinese Cantonese 胳肋底, 腋下
- 胳肋底the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- 腋下 (jik⁶ haa⁶)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- 腋窩 /腋窝 (jik⁶ wo¹)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Chinese Mandarin 夾肢窩 /夹肢窝, 腋窩 /腋窝
- 夾肢窩 /夹肢窝 (gāzhiwō)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- 腋窩 /腋窝 (yèwō)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- 腋下 (yèxià)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Czech podpaží, podpažní jamka
- podpažíthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- podpažní jamkathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Danish armhule
- armhulethe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Dutch oksel
- okselthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Esperanto akselo, subbrako
- akselothe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- subbrakothe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Estonian kaenlaauk, kaenal
- kaenlaaukthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- kaenalthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Finnish kainalo, kainalokuoppa
- kainalothe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- kainalokuoppathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- perseenreikäsomewhere or something unpleasant or undesirable
French aisselle
- aissellethe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
German Achselhöhle, Dreckloch
- Achselhöhlethe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- Drecklochsomewhere or something unpleasant or undesirable
Greek μασχάλη
- μασχάλη (mascháli)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Hawaiian ʻēʻē, pōʻaeʻae
- ʻēʻēthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- pōʻaeʻaethe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Hebrew שחי, בֵּית הַשֶּׁחִי
- שחי (shekhi)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- בֵּית הַשֶּׁחִי (beith hashekhi)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Hindi काँख, बग़ल
- काँख (kā̃kh)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- बग़ल (baġal)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Hungarian hónalj
- hónaljthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Icelandic handarkriki, holhönd
- handarkrikithe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- holhöndthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Indonesian ketiak
- ketiakthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Irish ascaill
- ascaillthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Italian ascella, postaccio
- ascellathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- postacciosomewhere or something unpleasant or undesirable
- fognasomewhere or something unpleasant or undesirable
- cloacasomewhere or something unpleasant or undesirable
Japanese 脇の下, 腋下
- 脇の下 (waki no shita)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- 腋下 (ekika)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- 腋窩 (ekika)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Korean 겨드랑이, 액와
- 겨드랑이 (gyeodeurang'i)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- 액와 (aegwa)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Latin āxilla, āla
- āxillathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- ālathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Latvian paduse
- padusethe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Lithuanian pažasti̇̀s
- pažasti̇̀sthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Malay ketiak, kelek
- ketiakthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- kelekthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Māori kēkē
- kēkēthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Norwegian Bokmål armhule, armhole
- armhulethe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- armholethe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Persian زیر بغل, کش
- زیر بغل (zir-e baġal)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- کش (kaš)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Polish pacha
- pachathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Portuguese axila, sovaco
- axilathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- sovacothe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Romanian subraț, subsuoară
- subrațthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- subsuoarăthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Russian подмы́шка
- подмы́шка (podmýška)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Scottish Gaelic achlais
- achlaisthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Slovak podpazušie, pazucha
- podpazušiethe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- pazuchathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Spanish axila, sobaco
- axilathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- sobacothe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Swahili kwapa
- kwapathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Swedish armhåla
- armhålathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Tagalog kilikili
- kilikilithe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Tamil அக்குள்
- அக்குள் (akkuḷ)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Thai รักแร้
- รักแร้ (rák-rɛ́ɛ)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Turkish koltuk, koltukaltı
- koltukthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- koltukaltıthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Ukrainian па́хва, паха́
- па́хва (páxva)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
- паха́ (paxá)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Urdu بغل
- بغل (baġal)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Vietnamese nách
- náchthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Welsh cesail
- cesailthe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Yiddish פּאַכווע
- פּאַכווע (pakhve)the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Zulu ikhwapha
- ikhwaphathe cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
armpit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/armpit
MLA
“armpit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/armpit. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “armpit,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/armpit.
Source: armpit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.