hike
Americanverb (used without object)
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to walk or march a great distance, especially through rural areas, for pleasure, exercise, military training, or the like.
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to move up or rise, as out of place or position (often followed byup ).
My shirt hikes up if I don't wear a belt.
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Nautical. to hold oneself outboard on the windward side of a heeling sailboat to reduce the amount of heel.
verb (used with object)
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to move, draw, or raise with a jerk (often followed byup ).
to hike up one's socks.
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to increase, often sharply and unexpectedly.
to hike the price of milk.
noun
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a long walk or march for recreational activity, military training, or the like.
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an increase or rise, often sharp and unexpected.
a hike in wages.
idioms
verb
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(intr) to walk a long way, usually for pleasure or exercise, esp in the country
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(usually foll by up) to pull or be pulled; hitch
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(tr) to increase (a price)
noun
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a long walk
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a rise in prices, wages, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have hikedperfect
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has hikedperfect 3rd person singular
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am hikingprogressive 1st person singular
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is hikingprogressive 3rd person singular
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hikessingular 3rd person
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have been hikingperfect progressive
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hikingparticiple
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has been hikingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are hikingprogressive
Past
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had hikedperfect
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were hikingprogressive plural
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was hikingprogressive singular
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hikedparticiple
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hikedsimple
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had been hikingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hike
First recorded in 1800–10; perhaps dialectal variant of hitch 1
Explanation
To hike is to walk a long way at a leisurely pace. You might love to hike in the woods on weekends. When you hike, you walk for pleasure, often in a wooded or hilly area. The trip itself is also a hike, whether you hike the Appalachian Trail or climb a local hill. Another meaning of hike is "to increase," as when the library decides to hike the fees for late books. Hike has been around since the 1800's, when it was spelled hyke, but its origin is uncertain. The "walk vigorously" meaning is older than the "raise or increase" meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing hike
Sports and Hobbies
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What Does the Fed's Raising Interest Rates Mean?
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Unit 13
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jack Allen-Reynolds, deputy chief eurozone economist at Capital Economics, said he thought that the ECB would likely deliver another hike at its next meeting in July, but stop there.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
How Warsh reacts to all the hints of a rate hike.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
“We expect the ECB to strike a delicate balance between not calling the hike a ‘one-and-done’ hike while also stopping short of pre-announcing further hikes,” said Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
But some economists have criticised the expected hike as it could constrict growth further in the sluggish eurozone by making it more costly for households and businesses to borrow.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
The hike was taking longer than it had last time.
From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
