pit against

verb

To set in opposition to someone or something else.

“Two of the greatest tennis players will be pitted against each other in next week's final.”

Meanings

verbpit against (third-person singular simple present pits against, present participle pitting against, simple past and past participle pitted against)

present singular third person pits against · participle present pitting against · participle past pitted against · past pitted against

  1. idiomatictransitiveTo set in opposition to someone or something else.

    Two of the greatest tennis players will be pitted against each other in next week's final.

    2 more examples

    This prompted January's timetable consultation with options that, according to Chester ^([sic – meaning Cheshire]) West and Chester Councillor Andrew Cooper last March, pitted councils against each other.

    2021 October 20, Philip Haigh, “Network News: Revised Manchester timetable due in December 2022”, in RAIL, number 942, page 27

    Some board members believed that Mr. Altman was trying to pit them against each other. Last month, they decided to act.

    2023 December 9, Tripp Mickle, Cade Metz, Mike Isaac, Karen Weise, “Inside OpenAI’s Crisis Over the Future of Artificial Intelligence”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

    Synonyms: set against

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo set in opposition to someone or something else.

Also see

Translations

German gegen ausspielen (etwas, jemanden), gegeneinander ausspielen
  • gegen ausspielen (etwas, jemanden)to set in opposition
  • gegeneinander ausspielento set in opposition
Cite this entry
APA

pit against. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pit%20against

MLA

“pit against.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pit%20against. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pit against,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pit%20against.

Source: pit against on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.