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hike

[ hahyk ]

/ haɪk /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hike ON THESAURUS.COM

WATCH NOW: How Are There So Many Different Meanings For The Word "Hike"?

WATCH NOW: How Are There So Many Different Meanings For The Word "Hike"?

This football player aptly illustrates how the word "hike" is truly applicable in a ton of situations. Who knew?

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verb (used without object), hiked, hik·ing.

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 by up): My shirt hikes up if I don't wear a belt.

Nautical. to hold oneself outboard on the windward side of a heeling sailboat to reduce the amount of heel.

verb (used with object), hiked, hik·ing.

to move, draw, or raise with a jerk (often followed by up): to hike up one's socks.

to increase, often sharply and unexpectedly: to hike the price of milk.

noun

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.

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RELATED WORDS

trek, trip, tramp, explore, stroll, jump, lift, boost, traipse, march, ramble, backpack, constitutional, walk, tour, exploration, excursion, walkabout, stump, rove

Nearby words

Idioms

take a hike, Slang. to go away because one's company is not desired.

Origin of hike

First recorded in 1800–10; perhaps dialectal variant of hitch¹

SYNONYMS FOR hike

1 tramp, ramble, trek, trudge, backpack.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hike ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formshik·er, noun

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

Examples from the Web for hike

Until then, we will hike the stairs together, one carpeted step at a time.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder|Carrie Arnold|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To break her self-destructive cycle and heal, she decides to hike 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail solo.
Exclusive: The Making of Reese Witherspoon’s Golden Globe-Nominated ‘Wild’|Marlow Stern|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was on a hike to the Grand Canyon at age 18 that Shattuck penned her first bucket list.
From Baltimore Ravens Cheerleader to Mrs. Robinson|Brandy Zadrozny|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Voters there also passed a hike in the state minimum wage, with 53 percent of the vote.
How’d the GOP Win? By Running Left|Sally Kohn|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

That is, soccer was intended to be no fun, like a 50-mile hike.
DUP-Up To a Point: Oops, I Enjoyed Soccer|P. J. O’Rourke|July 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the worst, a halt at some house would serve to break the monotony of the hike.
The Boy Scouts of Lakeville High|Leslie W. Quirk
Wonder what kind of a feeling it was that started those boys off on the hike!
The Landloper|Holman Day
We don't know ourselves just how far we expect to hike this afternoon.
The Banner Boy Scouts on a Tour|George A. Warren
Only, mostly they get tied up to something before they see what a big world there is to hike in, and I want to keep you from that.
The Trail of the Hawk|Sinclair Lewis
But if they drop it, we'll hike into the mountains instead of flying in style.
The Golden Skull|John Blaine

British Dictionary definitions for hike

hike

/ (haɪk) /

verb

(intr) to walk a long way, usually for pleasure or exercise, esp in the country

(usually foll by up) to pull or be pulled; hitch

(tr) to increase (a price)

noun

a long walk

a rise in prices, wages, etc

Derived Formshiker, noun

Word Origin for hike

C18: of uncertain 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 hike

hike

v.

1809, hyke "to walk vigorously," an English dialectal word of unknown origin. A yike from 1736 answers to the sense.

HIKE, v. to go away. It is generally used in a contemptuous sense. Ex. "Come, hike," i.e. take yourself off; begone. [Rev. Robert Forby, "The Vocabulary of East Anglia," London, 1830]

Sense of "pull up" (as pants) first recorded 1873 in American English, and may be a variant of hitch; extended sense of "raise" (as wages) is 1867. Related: Hiked; hiking. The noun is from 1865.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with hike

hike

see take a hike.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.