quit 1 of 2

verb

ˈkwit How to pronounce quit (audio)
Definition of quitnext
1
as in to leave
to give up (a job or office) he decided to quit his job at the fast-food restaurant

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to abandon
to stop doing (something) permanently her doctor told her it was high time she quit smoking

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to stop
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end quit pestering your coworkers with pointless questions

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to forsake
to cause to remain behind he quit the house sometime around nine this morning and hasn't been seen since

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to succumb
to cease resistance (as to another's arguments, demands, or control) tried to persuade his daughter to remain at home, but eventually he just quit and let her go out on her own

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in to cease
to come to an end will this teasing ever quit?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in to pay
to give what is owed for eager to quit all debts before starting married life

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
8
as in to depart
to leave a place often for another we plan to quit the amusement park around seven tonight and then head to the diner for some food

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
9
as in to behave
to manage the actions of (oneself) in a particular way I thought the kids quitted themselves quite well at the concert tonight

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

quit

2 of 2

adjective

as in free
no longer burdened with something unpleasant or painful I am finally quit of that terrible task

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word quit distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of quit are cease, desist, discontinue, and stop. While all these words mean "to suspend or cause to suspend activity," quit may stress either finality or abruptness in stopping or ceasing.

the engine faltered, sputtered, then quit altogether

When is it sensible to use cease instead of quit?

The words cease and quit are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, cease applies to states, conditions, or existence and may add a suggestion of gradualness and a degree of finality.

by nightfall the fighting had ceased

When is desist a more appropriate choice than quit?

While the synonyms desist and quit are close in meaning, desist implies forbearance or restraint as a motive for stopping or ceasing.

desisted from further efforts to persuade them

When would discontinue be a good substitute for quit?

While in some cases nearly identical to quit, discontinue applies to the stopping of an accustomed activity or practice.

we have discontinued the manufacture of that item

When could stop be used to replace quit?

In some situations, the words stop and quit are roughly equivalent. However, stop applies to action or progress or to what is operating or progressing and may imply suddenness or definiteness.

stopped at the red light

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of quit
Verb
Kazungu has quit her job as a chef to care for her new grandchildren. — ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026 The gold medalist famously quit figure skating at 16 before coming back on her own terms ahead of this winter's Olympics. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026 The hitmaker transitioned from being one of the biggest stars to come from the continent to him considering quitting music. — Ngozi Nwanji, Billboard, 25 Aug. 2026 The Stones somehow didn’t hit South America until 1995, a couple years after Wyman quit the band. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for quit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quit
  1. leave
  2. abandon
  3. stop
  4. succumb
  5. cease
  6. pay
  7. depart
  8. behave
Verb
  • First, the power goes out, leaving Bret wandering the halls as lights flicker around him.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Top Gear has not been on air since 2022, but a return was always likely, given the BBC Studios franchise is too big to leave in the garage.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of leave
Verb
  • Financing expires, talent moves on, and production slates are abandoned.
    — Jack Dunn, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • At an event overflowing with seven-figure hypercars and extreme technology, the car that exploded onto social media was one built around ideas that most of the industry has abandoned.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of abandon
Verb
  • And, there are lots of studies out there that show many in my generation have stopped believing in the promise of the American Dream.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
  • His government has implemented policies that slow energy permitting and development, canceled billions in grants for hundreds of clean energy projects and spent nearly $4 billion to buy back leases to stop offshore wind projects.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of stop
Verb
  • The Liberty’s deficit stayed in double figures while succumbing to the pressure of Golden State’s small lineups.
    — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Wolf succumbs to Shura, a demonic force in the game’s mythology that possesses those who give in to bloodlust.
    — Aman Kumar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of succumb
Verb
  • The idea is to pressure Iran's hardline leadership enough that they are forced to come back to the negotiating table and/or cease aggression around the Strait of Hormuz.
    — Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The one issue that could have been a distraction — Daniels’ attorney sent a cease-and-desist letter to LSU in an effort to get the school to stop using Daniels’ name, image and likeness — appears not to have rattled the quarterback.
    — Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of cease
Verb
  • Swift also paid tribute to Parton’s prolific and breathtaking body of work and her philanthropic efforts across the globe.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Connie Britton paid tribute to Dolly Parton, less than two weeks after the loss of her Nashville costar Hayden Panettiere.
    — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of pay
Verb
  • And with players in major European leagues still able to depart their clubs beyond the deadline, there is potential for big deals to still be done in the coming days.
    — Leon Imber, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Four years after succeeding founder Virgil Abloh as the creative lead at Off-White, Ib Kamara has departed the brand.
    — Luke Leitch, Vogue, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of depart
Verb
  • Search for jet quenching Previous experiments suggest that a millionth of a second after the Big Bang, even as temperatures remained extremely high, matter did not behave like gas but instead like liquid with very low viscosity.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The denim industry does not necessarily need another product that behaves exactly like PP.
    — Alice Tonello, Footwear News, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of behave

Browse Nearby Words

quislings
quit
quitclaim
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Quit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quit. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All