pitted

1. 1
   adjective

   Having had the hard stones or seeds removed, as from cherries or olives.

   The recipe calls for a pound of pitted dates blended into the batter.

   He preferred pitted prunes because they were easier to chop.

   Similarstoned

2. 2
   adjective

   Having a surface marked by many small holes or depressions; pockmarked.

   Weathering had left the limestone facade deeply pitted.

   Her cheeks were faintly pitted from a childhood illness.

   Similarpockmarked, pocked, scarred, dented

   Oppositesmooth, unblemished

   Note

   Pits are added here, not taken away. The surface has been marked with small hollows. They may be scattered like the scars of pockmarks, or set in a regular honeycomb pattern, which is what alveolate describes. The fruit sense runs the other way, because there the pit has been removed. Context usually settles it: pitted steel is blemished, but pitted olives have had their stones taken out.

3. 3
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of pit.

   The tournament pitted seasoned veterans against eager newcomers.

   The cook pitted the cherries before folding them into the pie.

   Note

   One spelling, with the t doubled before -ed, serves every past use of pit. A frequent construction is pitted against, as when rivals are pitted against each other. Racing gives the verb an intransitive use with no object: the leader pitted for fresh tires. The transitive senses also produce the marked-surface adjective and the stone-removed adjective, so a passive verb and an adjective can look identical.

4. 4
   adjective

   Equipped with one or more inspection pits, recessed floor areas that allow access to the underside of a vehicle.

   Only the pitted bays at the depot could handle full undercarriage repairs.

   The repair shop was pitted throughout, so no hoist was needed.

   Note

   Railway depots are where this sense is at home. A December 1961 report on the S.R.'s new electric maintenance depot at Ashford describes a running shed with "four roads pitted for a length of 229ft." Two habits show there. The tracks are called roads, and pitted can apply to one stretch of a track, with its length stated, rather than to the whole building.

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