Crit

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A shortened form referring to a critical hit in gaming contexts indicating an attack that deals extra damage; an abbreviation used in informal communication for critique or critical assessment; a colloquial truncation of criteria in casual or professional discussion contexts
2. An informal term signifying a successful and decisive strike in video games; a brief form for expressing evaluation or judgment; an abbreviation occasionally used for standards or principles guiding decision-making
3. A slang expression denoting a high-impact hit in gameplay scenarios; a condensed word for a critical review or critique; a shorthand for the plural of criterion used in various fields for defining rules or measures

Etymology: Long before gamers and reviewers used it, "crit" was simply a clipped form of longer words. Its main source is "criticism" and "critique," shortened from the same family as "critical." In gaming, it was later shortened again from "critical hit," the term for a blow that lands with extra force. That gaming sense is the one most people now recognise. The word is also a shortening of "criterium," the form of "criterion" used in some fields for a rule or measure, which is why the plural "crits" can refer to standards or tests in technical contexts. A separate, unrelated route gives a different "crit": in medicine and laboratory work, it is short for "haematocrit," the measure of the proportion of blood made up of red cells. The same three letters thus name a damaging game hit, a review, a set of criteria and a blood test.

Synonyms: critique, review, criticism

Antonyms: praise