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Glite Dictionary
piton

piton

3 9.9
A metal spike with a hole that climbers hammer into rock to hold a rope
  • noun
  • /ˈpiːtɒn/
  • Specialized
: pitón
  • 492 three tiny figures scale the ice using pitons and ropes.
  • Hammer a piton
  • pitons and carabiners
  • pitons and ropes

I clipped the piton into my heart, the that runner into my harness and just went please hold and I let go and it helped.

Examples

  • K.K. finished setting up the tent, hammering a dozen pitons into the rock to secure the dome against the wind.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Working with her right hand, she sets one piton and then another, hammering them in with her fist.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • That piton pin is still up there in the wall where I left it.

    Stunts (1977)

  • Fire, and out shoots a piton, followed by a high-tensile wire designed to support your weight.

    GoldenEye (1995)

  • "I think that I'll rest here a few moments," said Grieg, hanging from only a single piton.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Randi fires a piton in too, clips on, then clips another line between her belt and mine.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • I prayed that the single piton I had hammered into the rock would belay his fall.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • We use four pitons, or bolts, or a combination on each belay, and arrange the ropes like so.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • I hammered in two pitons, clipped four spring-gate carabineers to them, and tied off the rope.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • As she climbed the steep rock face, she carefully hammered the piton into the crack for safety.

Surface Forms

piton singular
pitons plural

Etymology

The word piton comes from the French word piton, meaning a small 'peg' or 'spike'. Climbers hammer a piton into rock to anchor a rope, so the name simply describes the metal peg that holds you in place.