kit

plural kits

1. countableuncountableA circular wooden vessel, made of hooped staves.
2. countableuncountableA kind of basket made especially from straw of rushes, especially for holding fish; by extension, the contents of such a basket or similar container, used as a measure of weight.

   He was pushing a barrow on the fish dock, wheeling aluminium kits which, when full, each contain 10 stone of fish.

   1961 18 Jan, Guardian (cited after OED)

3. countableuncountableA collection of items forming the equipment of a soldier, carried in a knapsack.

   Dudes! You simply have too much stuff in your kit! But don't sweat it, I can buy some stuff you don't need.

   1995, HAL Laboratory, EarthBound, Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System

4. countableuncountableAny collection of items needed for a specific purpose, especially for use by a workman, or personal effects packed for travelling.

   Always carry a good first-aid kit.

5. countableuncountableA collection of parts sold for the buyer to assemble.

   I built the entire car from a kit.

6. UKcountableuncountablehobbiesThe standard set of clothing, accessories and equipment worn by players.

   1 more example

   A sell-out crowd of 10,000 then observed perfectly a period of silence before the team revealed their black armbands, complete with stitched-in poppies, for the match. After Fifa’s about-turn, it must have been a frantic few days for the England kit manufacturer. The on-field challenge was altogether more straightforward.

   2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, in Telegraph

7. UKcountableinformaluncountableClothing.

   Get your kit off and come to bed.

   1 more example

   The Argentina fan who risked jail by getting her kit off at the World Cup final has broken her silence by posting more topless videos.

   2022 December 20, “Topless Argie fan breaks silence with more nude vids as she dodges Qatar's wrath”, in The US Sun

8. countableinformaluncountablecomputingA full software distribution, as opposed to a patch or upgrade.
9. countableuncountablevideo gamesThe set of skills and abilities chosen for a playable character.
10. countableuncountableentertainmentA drum kit.
11. countabledateduncountableThe whole set; kit and caboodle.

    Do you know the proportion between ten and twelve or thirteen? — No; I should suppose you may take the whole kit of them as thirty; and the rest are people at from twenty to forty years of age.

    1818, Reports, volume 92, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords, page 82

present singular third person kits · participle present kitting · participle past kitted · past kitted

1. transitiveTo assemble or collect something into kits.

   We need to kit the parts for the assembly by Friday, so that manufacturing can build the tool.

2. transitiveTo equip (somebody) with something.

   Synonyms: kit out, kit up

plural kits

1. A kitten (young cat).
2. broadlyA cat in general.

   “You must call them ‘squibs and crackers.’ And what would you call her?” pointing to the cat. ¶ “Cat or kit, or whatever you please, sir.”

   1890, Joseph Jacobs, “Master of all Masters”, in English Fairy Tales, page 221

3. A kit fox (Vulpes macrotis).
4. A young fox.
5. A young or undersized fur-bearing animal (such as a beaver, ferret, skunk, rabbit, weasel, or squirrel)

plural kits

1. Synonym of kit violin.

   A dancing master's kit.

   1681, Nehemiah Grew, Musæum Regalis Societatis. Or A Catalogue & Description of the Natural and Artificial Rarities Belonging to the Royal Society and Preserved at Gresham Colledge. […], London: […] W. Rawlins, for the author, →OCLC

   1 more example

   Prince Turveydrop then tinkled the strings of his kit with his fingers, and the young ladies stood up to dance.

   1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC

   Synonyms: kit violin

plural kits

1. collectiveA flock of pigeons, especially domesticated, trained pigeons and especially when flying together.

   A kit of special birds only is released.

   1924 June 14, T.P.'s and Cassell's Weekly, volume 2, page 253

   2 more examples

   Keeping a kit of what are known as High-Flyers, is great sport for some people.

   1921, John Wesley Williamson, A to Z of Pigeons: Fancy and Utility, with Latest Standards, Item Publishing Company, page 9

   I saw a kit of pigeons swinging round some nearby chimney pots. I marked the spot and made for the house.

   2013, Old Hand, The Strain Makers: The Art of Breeding Long Distance Pigeons, Read Books Limited

1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of keep in touch.

1. A diminutive of the male given name Christopher.

1. A diminutive of the female given name Katherine and related female given names.

1. A transliteration of the Ukrainian surname Кіт (Kit).

1. Hong KongA male given name from Cantonese 傑 /杰 (git⁶).