zit, n.

zit
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zit_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2021

# zitnoun

## Earlier version

- zit in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zit mean?

There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun zit. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the noun zit?

About 0.1occurrences per million words in modern written English

1910 | 0.031
1920 | 0.031
1930 | 0.032
1940 | 0.036
1950 | 0.042
1960 | 0.047
1970 | 0.061
1980 | 0.081
1990 | 0.1
2000 | 0.11
2010 | 0.13

### How is the noun zit pronounced?

#### British English

/zɪt/
zit

#### U.S. English

/zɪt/
zit

### Where does the noun zit come from?

Earliest known use

1910s

The earliest known use of the noun zit is in the 1910s.

OED's earliest evidence for zit is from 1912, in Los Angeles Evening Herald.

zit is of unknown origin.

### Nearby entries

1. zirconic, adj. 1804–
2. zirconite, n. 1806–
3. zirconitic, adj. 1883–
4. zirconium, n. 1808–
5. zircon-like, adj. 1857–
6. zircono-, comb. form
7. zirconolite, n. 1957–
8. zircon-syenite, n. 1813–
9. zirconyl, n. 1887–
10. zirkelite, n. 1895–
11. zit, n.1912–
12. zit cream, n. 1968–
13. zitella, n. a1660–
14. zit-face, n. 1974–
15. zit-faced, adj. 1971–
16. zither, n. 1831–
17. zither, v. 1889–
18. zither banjo, n. 1888–
19. zithering, adj. 1889–
20. zitherist, n. 1866–
21. zither-like, adj. 1881–

## Etymology

### Summary

Of unknown origin.
Origin unknown…
Origin unknown.

### Notes

It is not certain that sense 1 shows the same word as the later senses; it could perhaps have originated as a call in the game described in the note at that sense (perhaps compare the colloquial pronunciations reflected by howzit int. and howzat int.).
The β forms (occasionally used with singular agreement or in the plural zitzes) originated as alternative spellings of the plural form zits.

## Meaning & use

slang (originally U.S.).

1. 1.
   1912–
   Chiefly U.S. (south-western). A man's facial hair, spec. a type of small, neat moustache. Chiefly in plural with singular agreement, esp. in form zitz.
   The word is attested earliest in the context of a game, known as zits, in which players accumulated points by spotting men with different types of facial hair, a higher value being accorded to particularly long or unusual styles (cf. quot. 1912).
   1. 1912

      > Ten point zit.

      Los Angeles Evening Herald 30 July (Last edition) 2/3 (caption)
   2. 1925

      > Mack's ‘brush’ was that famous mustache which at one time was the only competitor in popular laugh-interest to Charlie's [sc. Charlie Chaplin] ‘zitz’.

      Madera (California) Mercury 11 September 2/5
   3. 1971

      > [He] had a zitz mustache and there was a brief case in his baggage.

      N. Cleaveland & G. Fitzpatrick, Morleys 32
   U.S. English colloquial and slang
   1. bristle a1300–
      gen. A short, stiff, pointed or prickly hair or similar appendage on other animals; the short hairs on the face of men when thickened and stiffened…
   2. subboscos 1579–1654
      In plural. Hair growing on the lower part of the face.
   3. suberch 1592
      = subbosco, n.
   4. stubble a1596–
      collective singular. transferred. A rough surface or short growth likened to the ‘stubble’ of grain, esp. the short bristly growth on a man's…
   5. whisker c1600–
      The hair that grows on an adult man's face; formerly commonly applied to that on the upper lip, now… plural: usually collective; sometimes…
   6. facial hair 1830–
      (Esp. of a man) hair that grows on the chin, cheeks, or upper lip; (in extended use) a beard or moustache.
   7. face fungus 1904–
      A man's facial hair, esp. a beard.
   8. zit 1912–
      Chiefly U.S. (south-western). A man's facial hair, spec. a type of small, neat moustache. Chiefly in plural with singular agreement, esp. in form zitz…
   9. five o'clock shadow 1937–
      (See five, adj. A.2b), used attributively in five o'clock shadow (see quot.1937), five-o'clock tea (colloquial shortened a five o'clock).
   10. shrubbery 1937–
       transferred. A beard or whiskers. jocular.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. mustachio 1551–
      A visible growth of hair on a man's upper lip; a moustache, (now) esp. one which is large and luxuriant. Cf. moustache, n. 1a.
   2. mustachio beard 1566
      A moustache.
   3. moustache 1585–
      A (cultivated) growth of hair above (and sometimes extending to either side of) a man's upper lip.
   4. mustachios a1593–1612
      In plural form treated as singular. Obsolete.
   5. bigote 1622
      A moustache.
   6. dibble 1631
      ? A moustache. Obsolete slang.
   7. umbrage 1657–
      The foliage of trees, etc., affording shade.
   8. whisker 1706–
      The hair that grows on an adult man's face; formerly commonly applied to that on the upper lip, now… singular: in earlier use, a moustache; now…
   9. lip-wing 1825–
      A moustache.
   10. facial hair 1830–
       (Esp. of a man) hair that grows on the chin, cheeks, or upper lip; (in extended use) a beard or moustache.
   11. mousetail 1853–
       In singular and plural. U.S. slang. A moustache; spec. a pencil-line moustache. Now rare.
   12. lip-hair 1873–
   13. lip-thatch 1892–
       A moustache.
   14. hackles 1894
       In plural: a moustache. Obsolete. rare.
   15. mo 1894–
       A moustache.
   16. tash 1894–
       = moustache, n. 1a.
   17. zit 1912–
       Chiefly U.S. (south-western). A man's facial hair, spec. a type of small, neat moustache. Chiefly in plural with singular agreement, esp. in form zitz…
   18. mouser 1922–
       Chiefly Scottish and U.S. A moustache. Cf. mousetail, n. 5.
   19. stash 1940–
       = moustache, n. 1a.
   20. taz 1951–
       = tash, n.
   21. stache 1963–
       A moustache.
   22. mush 1967–
       A moustache.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1965–
   A small, inflamed spot on the skin; a pimple. Also figurative.
   Now the main sense.
   1. 1965

      > ‘Zits’ Blitz!—Acne ‘sitz’ (pimples) disappear like magic with constant use of the Alphacene twins—Cleanser & Treatment, the newest, most complete treatment available today for acne and acne pimples.

      Sacramento (California) Bee 17 July a4/8 (advertisement)
   2. 1966

      > Last Easter he brought me a big chocolate bunny and I had zits for three weeks.

      Oakland (California) Tribune 9 April b6
   3. 1986

      > To know that one of the anarchist icons had her share of emotional zits and warts was very comforting.

      Open Road Spring 8/3
   4. 1989

      > The years of zits finally did disappear and we entered that wild and free period of exploration that comes with leaving school.

      Canberra Times 4 July 19/4
   5. 2011

      > I think I'm getting a zit. Right on the end of my nose as well.

      Y. Edwards, Cupboard Full of Coats iv. 76
   pathology U.S. English colloquial and slang
   1. pimple a1398–
      A small, firm, inflamed spot on the skin; a papule, a pustule.
   2. plouk?c1425–
      A pimple, a spot.
   3. wheal c1440–1707
      A pimple, pustule.
   4. knoll 1499
      A swelling upon the skin; = knob, n. I.1a.
   5. red spot a1500–
      Medicine. Originally: any small red lesion of the skin (as a macule, papule, etc.), esp. one forming part of a rash. In later use also: any small red…
   6. knop 1558–98
      A swelling upon the skin; a wart, pimple, etc.: = knob, n. I.1a. Obsolete.
   7. blob 1597–
      A pimple, pustule. northern dialect. Also figurative.
   8. bumb 1598
      A pimple.
   9. pumple 1601
      = pimple, n.
   10. burl 1607–51
       transferred. A small lump or rising in the skin; a pimple or pustule. Obsolete. (Cf. bur, n. 5.)
   11. pimple spot 1658–
       = pimple, n. 1.
   12. tiler 1660
       ? A pimple. Obsolete. rare.
   13. pipjenny 1670–
       A red pimple on the face.
   14. papula 1694–
       Medicine. A small lump or swelling on the skin; (in later use) spec. = papule, n. 2. Now rare.
   15. grub 1731–
       (See quots.)
   16. papilla 1793–1892
       Anatomy and Zoology. Medicine. A small papule. Obsolete. rare.
   17. papule 1828–
       Medicine. A small, solid, rounded or somewhat pointed swelling on the skin (or, less commonly, a mucous membrane), often forming part of a rash. Cf. p…
   18. maculopapule 1900–
       A skin lesion having characteristics of both a macule and a papule (usually a slightly elevated discoloured spot).
   19. hickey 1934–
       A pimple; a love-bite. U.S. dialect or colloquial.
   20. zit 1965–
       A small, inflamed spot on the skin; a pimple. Also figurative.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
3. 3.
   1966–
   An unpleasant or dirty mark or stain. Now rare.
   It is unclear whether quot. 1966 is a figurative use of sense 2, or conversely whether sense 2 is a specific example of the sense described in quot. 1966.
   1. 1966

      > Zit, something bad or unpleasant... What's that zit on your coat?

      Current Slang (University South Dakota) Summer 5
   2. 1977

      > Zit n, reddish mark caused by kissing. ‘She has a big zit on her neck.’

      American Speech 1975 vol. 50 69
   U.S. English colloquial and slang

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zɪt/
zit

### U.S. English

/zɪt/
zit

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Forms

### Variant forms

##### α.

1. 1900s–
   zit

##### β. (in sense 1)

1. 1900s–
   sits (rare), zitz

## Frequency

zit typically occurs about 0.1 times per million words in modern written English.

zit is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zit, n., 1910–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1910 | 0.031
1920 | 0.031
1930 | 0.032
1940 | 0.036
1950 | 0.042
1960 | 0.047
1970 | 0.061
1980 | 0.081
1990 | 0.1
2000 | 0.11
2010 | 0.13

### Frequency of zit, n., 2017–2024

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.

Period | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
2017 | 0.13
2018 | 0.12
2019 | 0.11
2020 | 0.11
2021 | 0.091
2022 | 0.078
2023 | 0.076
2024 | 0.078

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. zit cream, n. 1968–
   A preparation used to treat pimples; spot cream.

1. zit-faced, adj. 1971–
   derogatory. slang (originally U.S.). (Of a…

1. zitty, adj. 1971–
   Having or characterized by pimples or facial acne…

1. zit-face, n. 1974–
   derogatory. slang (originally U.S.). (An abusive…

zit, n. was revised in March 2021.

zit, n. was last modified in June 2025.