pith

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpɪθ/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/pɪθ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(pith)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pith /pɪθ/USA pronunciation   n. [uncountable]
  1. Botanythe soft, spongy tissue in the stems of certain plants and trees.
  2. Zoologythe soft inner part of a feather, a hair, etc.
  3. the important or essential part;
    core:the pith of the matter.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
pith  (pith),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Botanythe soft, spongy central cylinder of parenchymatous tissue in the stems of dicotyledonous plants.
  2. Zoologythe soft inner part of a feather, a hair, etc.
  3. the important or essential part;
    essence;
    core;
    heart:the pith of the matter.
  4. significant weight;
    substance;
    solidity:an argument without pith.
  5. [Archaic.]spinal cord or bone marrow.
  6. [Archaic.]strength, force, or vigor;
    mettle:men of pith.

v.t. 
  1. Botanyto remove the pith from (plants).
  2. Zoologyto destroy the spinal cord or brain of.
  3. to slaughter, as cattle, by severing the spinal cord.
  • bef. 900; Middle English; Old English pitha; cognate with Dutch pit. See pit2

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
pith /pɪθ/ n
  1. the soft fibrous tissue lining the inside of the rind in fruits such as the orange and grapefruit
  2. the essential or important part, point, etc
  3. weight; substance
  4. Also called: medulla the central core of unspecialized cells surrounded by conducting tissue in stems
  5. the soft central part of a bone, feather, etc
 vb (transitive)
  1. to kill (animals) by severing the spinal cord
  2. to remove the pith from (a plant)
Etymology: Old English pitha; compare Middle Low German pedik, Middle Dutch pitt(e)
'pith' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
aye-aye - medulla - papyrus - pit - pith helmet - pithy - rice paper - rushlight - sago - topee - topi - ground meristem - grugru - meat - medullary ray - medullary sheath - pith ray - pulp - rice-paper tree - siphonostele - sola - spongy - substance

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