hitch a ride

Idioms  

1. Also, thumb a ride. Solicit a free ride, especially by hitchhiking. For example, I've no car; can I hitch a ride home with you? or He was hoping to thumb a ride to the stadium. The verb hitch here alludes to walking unevenly, presumably to hop into a car or truck; raising one's thumb is the traditional signal for stopping a car on the road. [First half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hitch a ride

Amira and her husband finally managed to hitch a ride on a pick-up truck carrying a cargo of vegetables.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2025

It's also used at shipping ports to kill pests before they can hitch a ride to other parts of the world.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2024

Now, researchers say the bird may hitch a ride by listening for very low frequency sounds humans can’t hear—one of only a few species known to do so.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 11, 2023

Sticky seeds often hitch a ride on bison coats, and when the animals roll around, the seeds fall and sprout into a carpet of deep-rooted grasses that lock carbon in the earth.

From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2022

“What? No! I would never hitch a ride from this thief!”

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Related Words

• cruise
• drift
• drive
• float
• go
• go with
• guide
• move
• sit
• travel