- a specially prepared well or trench in the ground, used for roasting meat on a grill or spit over an open wood or charcoal fire: Where this dish was invented, it's cooked in a barbecue pit with whole pork shoulders as the main ingredient.We were all standing over the barbecue pit, getting smoke in our eyes.
- a boxlike structure outdoors or in a restaurant kitchen, etc., having a grill on top or a spit inside for roasting meat over an open wood or charcoal fire: After years of experimenting, he perfected a portable barbecue pit that could cook large quantities of meat.
