Library / English Dictionary

SUIT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A comprehensive term for any proceeding in a court of law whereby an individual seeks a legal remedy

Example:

the family brought suit against the landlord

Synonyms:

case; causa; cause; lawsuit; suit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("suit" is a kind of...):

legal proceeding; proceeding; proceedings ((law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "suit"):

civil suit (a lawsuit alleging violations of civil law by the defendant)

class-action suit; class action (a lawsuit brought by a representative member of a large group of people on behalf of all members of the group)

countersuit (a suit brought against someone who has sued you)

criminal suit (a lawsuit alleging violations of criminal law by the defendant)

moot (a hypothetical case that law students argue as an exercise)

bastardy proceeding; paternity suit (a lawsuit filed to determine the father of a child born out of wedlock (and to provide for the support of the child once paternity is determined))

Derivation:

sue (institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A set of garments (usually including a jacket and trousers or skirt) for outerwear all of the same fabric and color

Example:

they buried him in his best suit

Synonyms:

suit; suit of clothes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("suit" is a kind of...):

garment (an article of clothing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "suit"):

zoot suit (a flashy suit of extreme cut)

slack suit (casual dress consisting of slacks and matching jacket)

single-breasted suit (a suit having a single-breasted jacket)

pinstripe (a suit made from a fabric with very thin stripes)

double-breasted suit (a suit with a double-breasted jacket)

business suit (a suit of clothes traditionally worn by businessmen)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Playing card in any of four sets of 13 cards in a pack; each set has its own symbol and color

Example:

what suit is trumps?

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("suit" is a kind of...):

playing card (one of a pack of cards that are used to play card games)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "suit"):

major suit ((bridge) a suit of superior scoring value, either spades or hearts)

minor suit (( bridge) a suit of inferior scoring value, either diamonds or clubs)

trump ((card games) the suit that has been declared to rank above all other suits for the duration of the hand)

Holonyms ("suit" is a member of...):

deck; deck of cards; pack of cards (a pack of 52 playing cards)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A petition or appeal made to a person of superior status or rank

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("suit" is a kind of...):

appeal; entreaty; prayer (earnest or urgent request)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage)

Example:

its was a brief and intense courtship

Synonyms:

courting; courtship; suit; wooing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("suit" is a kind of...):

appeal; entreaty; prayer (earnest or urgent request)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "suit"):

bundling (a onetime custom during courtship of unmarried couples occupying the same bed without undressing)

Sense 6

Meaning:

(slang) a businessman dressed in a business suit

Example:

all the suits care about is the bottom line

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("suit" is a kind of...):

businessman; man of affairs (a person engaged in commercial or industrial business (especially an owner or executive))

Domain usage:

depreciation; derogation; disparagement (a communication that belittles somebody or something)

argot; cant; jargon; lingo; patois; slang; vernacular (a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves))

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Accord or comport with

Example:

This kind of behavior does not suit a young woman!

Synonyms:

befit; beseem; suit

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "suit" is one way to...):

agree; check; correspond; fit; gibe; jibe; match; tally (be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their characteristics)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be agreeable or acceptable to

Example:

This suits my needs

Synonyms:

accommodate; fit; suit

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "suit" is one way to...):

conform to; fill; fit; fulfil; fulfill; meet; satisfy (fill, satisfy or meet a want or need or condtion ro restriction)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Enhance the appearance of

Example:

This behavior doesn't suit you!

Synonyms:

become; suit

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "suit" is one way to...):

beautify; embellish; fancify; prettify (make more beautiful)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be agreeable or acceptable

Example:

This time suits me

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "suit" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "suit"):

agree (be agreeable or suitable)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

His clothes, his watch, and even his money were in his room, but the black suit which he usually wore was missing.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You know you said you'd recover your suit if you got that money.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

If this won't suit I shall have to wait till I can do better.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

But I can assure you, she added, that Lizzy does not lose much by not suiting his fancy; for he is a most disagreeable, horrid man, not at all worth pleasing.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

However, it is not my business, and so it suits you, I don't much care.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

These schools are of several kinds, suited to different qualities, and both sexes.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

The more difficult it was, the better it would suit me.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But by deciding what end-of-life care best suits your needs when you are healthy, you can help those close to you make the right choices when the time comes.

(End of Life Issues, NIH)

If your home is not large enough, you might want to move and begin to look at spaces that would better suit your evolving lifestyle.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

He was not better dressed than of old, for I well knew the old brown suit that he wore.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)