🇺🇸
/ˈɑːrmˌpɪt/
🇺🇸
/ˈɑːrmˌpɪt/
🇬🇧
/ˈɑːrmˌpɪt/
🇬🇧
/ˈɑːrmˌpɪt/
Plural
armpits
An armpit is the hollow area on each side of your body where your arm meets your shoulder — a warm, moist, and often sweaty spot that’s home to lymph nodes and scent glands. Think of it as your body’s built-in 'underarm pocket' where deodorant goes and where you might hide a thermometer when checking for fever.
She dabbed antiperspirant on her armpits before heading to the gym.
The baby giggled when her dad tickled her armpits.
He wore a dark shirt to hide any potential armpit stains.
Doctors often check the armpits for swollen lymph nodes during physical exams.
After running five miles, his armpits were soaked through his T-shirt.
arm
Comes from Old English 'arm', meaning 'the upper limb of the human body, extending from shoulder to wrist'. It is a native Germanic root with cognates in Old Norse, Old High German, and Gothic. Core concept: limb used for lifting, holding, and manipulation. Examples include armchair, armhole, armed, disarm, forearm.
pit
Comes from Old English 'pytt', meaning 'a hole, hollow, or depression in the ground', borrowed from Latin 'puteus' (well, shaft) via early Germanic. In compound nouns like 'armpit', it metaphorically denotes a natural anatomical hollow or concavity. Examples include pitfall, pithead, pitstop, sunken pit, and historically 'pit' in 'armpit' reflects the recessed, cup-like shape under the arm.