suit

1 of 2

noun

1
: a set of garments: such as
a
: an ensemble of two or more usually matching outer garments (such as a jacket, vest, and trousers)
businessmen wearing three-piece suits
b
: a costume to be worn for a special purpose or under particular conditions
gym suits
2
a
: an action or process in a court for the recovery of a right or claim
b
: recourse or appeal to a feudal superior for justice or redress
3
a
: all the playing cards in a pack bearing the same symbol
b
: all the dominoes bearing the same number
c
: all the cards or counters in a particular suit held by one player
a 5-card suit
d
: the suit led
follow suit
4
slang : a business executive
usually used in plural
5
: a group of things forming a unit : suite
used chiefly of armor, sails, and counters in games
6
: an act or instance of suing or seeking by entreaty : appeal
specifically : courtship
7
archaic : suite sense 1
suited adjective

suit

2 of 2

verb

suited; suiting; suits

transitive verb

1
: to meet the needs or desires of : please
suits me fine
2
a
: to be proper for : befit
a mood that suits the occasion
b
: to be becoming to
that dress suits you
3
: to outfit with clothes : dress
4
: accommodate, adapt
suit the action to the word

intransitive verb

1
: to put on specially required clothing (such as a uniform or protective garb)
usually used with up
players suiting up for the game
2
: to be in accordance : agree
the position suits with your abilities
3
: to be appropriate or satisfactory
these prices don't suit

Examples of suit in a Sentence

Noun He wore his gray suit to the job interview. filed a suit against the company that had manufactured the faulty heater, claiming they were responsible for the fire Verb This kind of behavior hardly suits a person of your age. She gave a serious speech that suited the occasion. The formal furniture really suited the style of the house. The job suits her very well.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The suit alleges that another person rammed the gates at her community and that yet another person smashed her mailbox with a hammer to try to steal her mail. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 The jeans and body suits that kind of peek out the top. Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024 In the teaser for the film, arriving May 24 on Netflix, Lopez is on a solo mission to save mankind with help from a well-armed robot suit. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024 Restaurant Business also notes that the company has been sued over 150 times, both state and federal suits, since Pandya took over in 2020. Angela L. Pagán / The Takeout, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024 His lawsuit — supported by Everytown's litigation arm — alleges Pennsylvania ghost gun kits seller JSD Supply (JSD) illegally sold parts to a Michigan minor, who then assembled a pistol and fired it at Boyd's right eye in an incident the suit describes as a foreseeable and preventable accident. Detroit Free Press, 12 Mar. 2024 Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Carmen rose to fame as the frontman of the 1970s pop-rock group The Raspberries, whose tidy haircuts and matching suits appeared to reference the uniform looks of The Beatles and other defining groups of the British Invasion. Taylor Romine, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 But the most popular way to jazz up a suit this year? Liam Hess, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2024 Men in brooches and women in gravity-defying silhouettes owned the evening; double-breasted suits established themselves as the new go-to silhouette for men’s formalwear, and women opted for muted metallics en masse. Rachel Tashjian, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024
Verb
Go for classic with a twist such as these textured gold vermeil huggies that will suit almost any style aesthetic. Paula Lee, Glamour, 14 Mar. 2024 Black women often feel as if some brands are not suited for our care. India Espy-Jones, Essence, 14 Mar. 2024 That suits its otherworldly and somewhat formal tone, which takes viewers deep into Japan’s mythical past for a quartet of eerie tales about lonely ghosts and vengeful spirits who bring supernatural justice to selfish and immoral humans. Katie Rife, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2024 For the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, though, Randolph swapped out the gown for something better suited to party in. Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 This quiet, minimal approach to suiting is one that Murphy and Forde have nailed throughout the season. Christian Allaire, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2024 Watch on Max Arrival While Denis Villeneuve has dabbled in a variety of genres since beginning his filmmaking career in the mid-1990s, a sci-fi milieu seems to suit him best. Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 6 Mar. 2024 Crucially, the video game conceit suits the play — not only the fight-heavy storyline, with its sense of continually rebooting military and political clashes, but also Coriolanus’s relative deficit of interiority (especially compared with protagonists of other Shakespeare tragedies). Celia Wren, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 Being coy may have suited the Houthis in the early days, and their ambitions may have evolved over time. Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'suit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English sute, seute pursuit, retinue, set, legal action, from Anglo-French siute, suite, from Vulgar Latin *sequita, from feminine of *sequitus, past participle of *sequere to follow — more at sue

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 7

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of suit was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near suit

Cite this Entry

“Suit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suit. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

suit

1 of 2 noun
1
: an action or process in a court for enforcing a right or claim
2
: an act or instance of requesting earnestly
especially : courtship
3
: a number of things used together : set
4
a
: an outer costume of two or more pieces
b
: a costume to be worn for a special purpose or under particular conditions
gym suit
5
a
: all the cards of one kind (as spades or hearts) in a pack of playing cards
b
: all the dominoes bearing the same number

suit

2 of 2 verb
1
: to outfit with clothes : dress
2
: to make suitable : adapt
suit the action to the word
3
a
: to be proper for
a mood that suits the occasion
b
: to be becoming to
that dress suits you
4
: to meet the needs or desires of : please
suits me fine
5
: to be in accordance : agree
the job suits with your abilities
6
: to be appropriate or satisfactory
these prices do not suit

Medical Definition

suit

Legal Definition

suit

noun
: a proceeding to enforce a right or claim
specifically : an action brought in a court seeking a remedy for injuries suffered or a determination of rights : lawsuit
Etymology

Noun

Anglo-French siute suite suit request to initiate legal proceedings, literally, pursuit, from siute, feminine past participle of suire to follow, from Old French sivre see sue

More from Merriam-Webster on suit

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!