fittest

1. 1
   adjective

   Superlative of fit.

   The training program aims to leave each soldier among the fittest in the unit.

   Natural selection tends to favor the fittest organisms in a given environment.

   Note

   Two different ideas meet in this form, and they are easy to confuse. Said of people, it usually means in the best physical shape. Said of organisms in an environment, it means best adapted, which need not mean strongest. It can also mean most suitable, as in the fittest candidate for the post. The t doubles before the ending, and the same spelling serves the archaic verb used with thou.

2. 2
   verbarchaic

   Second-person singular simple present indicative of fit. Archaic, used with thou.

   Note

   Here -est is not a superlative ending. It is the old verb ending that always went with thou: thou fittest the key to the lock. It belongs to archaic or deliberately old-fashioned writing. Modern English uses plain fit after you. The form covers every sense of the verb, from being suitable for something to tailoring a garment to size.

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