hike
Americanverb (used without object)
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hikes,
present (3rd person singular)
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hiked,
past participle, past
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hiking
present participle
-
to walk or march a great distance, especially through rural areas, for pleasure, exercise, military training, or the like.
-
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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hikes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hiked,
past participle, past
-
hiking
present participle
-
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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hikes
plural
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a long walk or march for recreational activity, military training, or the like.
-
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hikesimple
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hikessimple
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have hikedperfect
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has hikedperfect
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am hikingprogressive
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are hikingprogressive
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is hikingprogressive
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have been hikingperfect progressive
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has been hikingperfect progressive
Past
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hikedsimple
-
had hikedperfect
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was hikingprogressive
-
were hikingprogressive
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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.
See Examples For:
Money markets price in a 95% probability of a 25-basis-point ECB rate hike in September, according to LSEG, which would bring the deposit rate to 2.50%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
That is set to hike the share of the costs the seven are liable for.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Fast friends, we’d hike nearly every weekend together.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Damian Foks, head of consulting at Valueships, said the Harvest price hike was "a clear sign of a shift in the company's strategy from growth to monetization".
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
The wind picks up as we hike back to the car, a rustling hush through the pines and foliage.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
The Indonesian central bank kept its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate unchanged at 5.75%, as the rupiah stabilizes and it gauges the impact of prior interest-rate hikes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Others have reported similar price hikes online, with one person, external in the US saying their annual charge went from $2,800 to $23,000.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
All three have said since the meeting that they favored raising rates now in order to forestall the possible need for steeper hikes later.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Under the second scenario, if inflation remained elevated due to strong AI-related spending, the conflict in the Middle East and the effects of tariffs, “most” officials said some rate hikes would likely be needed.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
He’s most at ease talking about the past, the trips, hikes, and rides.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Amazon also hiked its capital expenditures estimate during the second quarter, linking memory prices to the AI buildout, CEO Andy Jassy told CNBC.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Consumer electronics giant Sony last week also hiked its annual profit forecast, helped by strong sales in its video games division -- and the feeble yen.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
She ran, climbed and hiked 14 to 18 hours a day, covering 40 to 50 miles before getting a few hours of sleep in a van, tent or occasionally a hotel room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Rather than call for a helicopter rescue, Cifaldi hiked 10 miles down the mountain on foot.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
He also hiked for miles with Rondon and Lyra, scouting the area ahead to find out what they were up against.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
On the trail by the Pacific, as I panted and shook with fear in my new hiking boots at the bottom of the mountain, Susie was already on top, cheering me from above.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
As well as hiking the cost of motor fuel, elevated global oil prices can lead to price rises across the board as companies pass the higher expenses they face to consumers, pushing up inflation.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
“Hill-climbing” is the term that is suddenly on lips across Silicon Valley, for reasons that have nothing to do with San Francisco’s dramatic topography or techies’ love of hiking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The reading suggested the world's number one economy was slowing, though traders welcomed the prospect the Federal Reserve will hold off hiking borrowing costs for the time being.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Katz never really did get into hiking, though goodness knows he tried.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
