-
half hitch
half hitchnouna knot or hitch made by forming a bight and passing the end of the rope around the standing part and through the bight.
-
half-hitch
half-hitchnouna knot made by passing the end of a piece of rope around itself and through the loop thus made
half hitch
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of half hitch
First recorded in 1760–70
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.
See Examples For:
Given all this, I tried to make sense of the electronic shoreline with Anhinga, our 37-foot Bertram, rolling in a beam sea as the Whaler attempted to slip a half hitch around her wheels.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
Moreover, there was reason to suppose that all four had been bound by the same person: in all four instances the same type of knot, a half hitch, was used.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
![]()
The weight of the animal dragged me forward and, had I not taken a half hitch round a dead snag, would have lifted me off my feet or pulled the lasso from my hands.
From Tales of lonely trails by Grey, Zane
It seems he didn't half hitch Prince, who got oneasy like, and started for home.
From Tempest and Sunshine by Holmes, Mary Jane
It consists of two turns around a spar or ring, then a half hitch around the standing part and through the turns on the spar, and another half hitch above it around the standing part.
From Boy Scouts Handbook The First Edition, 1911 by Boy Scouts of America
When securing these lines, use a full wrap around the base of the cleat, at least one figure eight and a half-hitch cinched tight.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
The midshipman's hitch is made by taking a half-hitch around the standing part and a round turn twice around above it.
From Knots, Splices and Rope Work A Practical Treatise by Verrill, A. Hyatt (Alpheus Hyatt)
"For God's sake, get a half-hitch on the saplin'!" called the cowboy.
From The Last of the Plainsmen by Grey, Zane
Every time I get a half-hitch on that fellow, something turns up to make it slip.
From The Taming of Red Butte Western by Lynde, Francis
Unhappily, Paddy was standing in the middle of the coil, and before he could jump out of it a half-hitch was caught round his leg.
From The Three Midshipmen by Prout, Victor
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.