glitch

[glich]Slang.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR glitch ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a defect or malfunction in a machine or plan.

Computers. any error, malfunction, or problem.Compare bug¹(def 5).

a brief or sudden interruption or surge in voltage in an electric circuit.

verb (used with object)

to cause a glitch in: an accident that glitched our plans.

Origin of glitch

1960–65; perhaps < Yiddish glitsh slippery area; compare glitshn, German glitschen to slip, slide

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for glitch

malfunction, flaw, defect, snafu, snag, mishap, setback, problem, hitch, bug, misfire

Examples from the Web for glitch

Contemporary Examples of glitch

That would require the rocket to run for 55 to 60 seconds without a glitch.
Can Anyone Make Space Safe for Civilians?
Clive Irving
November 4, 2014
But a glitch has the video stuck in permaload mode and my patience is running thin after that strenuous hour of “math”.
I Took The One ‘Hour Of Code’ Challenge
Jane Frye
December 12, 2013
The second glitch came a few hours after that, when some of the cables used to pull the ship upright started to slack.
The Raising of the Concordia
Barbie Latza Nadeau
September 17, 2013
The dynamic played out, but unfortunately for Idol, there was a glitch.
‘American Idol’ Sucks This Season: Here’s Seven Reasons Why
Ramin Setoodeh
April 4, 2013
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called the incident a “glitch.”
Diplomacy Fail in Cairo as the US and Egypt Clash Via Twitter
Vivian Salama
April 3, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for glitch

glitch

noun

a sudden instance of malfunctioning or irregularity in an electronic system

a change in the rotation rate of a pulsar

Word Origin for glitch

C20: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for glitch

1962, American English, possibly from Yiddish glitsh "a slip," from glitshn "to slip," from German glitschen, and related gleiten "to glide" (see glide). Perhaps directly from German; it began as technical jargon in the argot of electronic hardware engineers, popularized and given a broader meaning by U.S. space program.