Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A pimple.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun slang a pimple.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun US, slang pimple

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a small inflamed elevation of the skin; a pustule or papule; common symptom in acne

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Unknown slang with its origin in 1960's, the term "zit" may be related to the German "Zitze" [teat, nipple].

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Examples

  • In order to be the #1 Google search result for the word "zit," zits.com creates a bunch of stories about zits.

    Shawn Amos: Content Is Best Fresh -- Not Farmed Shawn Amos 2011

  • Like I said in my own blog about obama winning the election and the hole in my tv screen, racism has become a boil, or a zit, that is pushing up under the surface, and ready to burst.

    Progressive U - The new media voice for students 2009

  • Like I said in my own blog about obama winning the election and the hole in my tv screen, racism has become a boil, or a zit, that is pushing up under the surface, and ready to burst.

    Progressive U - The new media voice for students 2009

  • Absolutely great writing today, Kristin .. but the next time you get a "zit" .... well, you know, that Karma thing.

    choper - French Word-A-Day 2010

  • Absolutely great writing today, Kristin .. but the next time you get a "zit" .... well, you know, that Karma thing.

    choper - French Word-A-Day 2010

  • There was an FTP error and internal permissions problem and what my hosting provider described to me in confidence-inspiring, technical language as a "zit".

    ProBlogger Blog Tips kellydiels 2009

  • The one thing I can't figure out is, what (in this context) was a "zit"?

    ProBlogger Blog Tips kellydiels 2009

  • As Bluto Blutarsky in "Animal House, '' John made cinema history by smashing a guitar, imitating a" zit "in the cafeteria and inspiring his fraternity brothers with the rallying cry:" Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? "

    Our Guide to Famous Brothers 2010

  • A volcano-like zit has manifested itself on the tip of your nose on the morning of your job interview.

    Like Hell Needs A Heat Wave... 2010

  • A volcano-like zit has manifested itself on the tip of your nose on the morning of your job interview.

    Archive 2010-02-01 2010

Comments

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  • We Scots would call this a pluke.

    March 3, 2007