Legit is an informal short form of legitimate: real, honest, not a scam. Is this site legit? asks whether the site is genuine or a scam. Before a verb or an adjective, legit works like really: I legit cried. People use it in texts and with friends. In an email to a colleague, in an essay and in IELTS Speaking, genuine, reliable or really are better.
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be legit (site/shop/offer); is it legit?; legit + verb/adjective (= really)
- is this online shop legit? the prices look too good to be true
- i legit forgot about the meeting, so sorry
- my cousin got tickets from that resale site and they were legit, so i'm ordering too
What changed
First versionDear Mr Brown, I have checked the offer and it seems legit.
RevisionDear Mr Brown, I have checked the offer and it seems genuine.
The email to Mr Brown is a business message, and legit is slang. Neutral genuine says the same thing, that the offer isn't a scam, and the rest of the email stays as it is.
The full form legitimate is a formal word about what is lawful or justified: a legitimate reason means a valid one. It isn't used before a verb in place of really: I legit forgot is a normal remark, while I legitimate forgot is a mistake. And the other way round, a legit reason in a formal letter sounds too casual.
Your turn
I ___ thought the exam was tomorrow, not today!
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legit — You need an intensifier here, “I really thought”, and only legit can play that role before a verb. Legitimate is an adjective meaning lawful or valid, and it can't go before the verb thought.
Write a message to a friend about something you bought online: name the shop or website and say whether it turned out to be legit.
ordered headphones from SoundHub last week and they arrived yesterday, so the site is legit.
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