Standard Lemma guide

piton

noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈpiːˌtɒn/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːtɒn
  • CMU ARPABET: P IY1 T AO2 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A spike, wedge, or peg that is driven into a rock or ice surface as a support (as for a mountain climber).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: climbing, hobbies, lifestyle, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To put pitons into a rock/ice to facilitate climbing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: climbing, hobbies, lifestyle, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a metal spike with a hole for a rope; mountaineers drive it into ice or rock to use as a hold

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spike

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Occitan pitt- French -on French pitonbor. English piton Borrowed from French piton (“nail”).

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: клин (klin) — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)
  • Chinese Mandarin: 岩釘 /岩钉 (yándīng) — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)
  • Czech: skoba — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)
  • Finnish: haka — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)
  • Finnish: kiila — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)
  • German: Felshaken — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)
  • Hungarian: jégszeg — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)
  • Hungarian: falkapocs — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)
  • Norwegian: ringbolt — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)
  • Portuguese: pitão — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)
  • Romanian: piton — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)
  • Russian: ска́льный крюк (skálʹnyj krjuk) — a spike, wedge, or peg (climbing)