hike
Americanverb (used without object)
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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)
-
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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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
-
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
-
hikessimple
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have hikedperfect
-
has hikedperfect
-
am hikingprogressive
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are hikingprogressive
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is hikingprogressive
-
have been hikingperfect progressive
-
has been hikingperfect progressive
Past
-
hikedsimple
-
had hikedperfect
-
was hikingprogressive
-
were hikingprogressive
-
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:
Besides the croissant, the wedge salad sold at counter service restaurant Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta located in California Adventure saw a hike of more than 20% from $11.99 to $14.79.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
"Is there a probability that we will have to hike more? Maybe. Is there a probability that we have to stay where we are? Maybe, or maybe we have to do other things."
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
“One hike gets you more than you might think for your reputation when you are new to the job,” said Marc Sumerlin of Evenflow Macro.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Gatwick's price hike comes as the airport tries to get more people arriving by trains and buses.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
“For the first part of the hike, I want you to walk in complete silence, to really concentrate on what you’re seeing around you,” he said.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Price hikes at Disneyland are a regular occurrence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Cardillo sets his near-term price target at $4,375 a troy ounce, also noting that next week’s Fed meeting may provide more clarity to how interest rate hikes could materialize going forward.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Higher inflation meanwhile risks hikes to UK interest rates, analysts said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
Markets are expecting interest rates to be held by the European Central Bank when it meets on Thursday, but analysts expect hints for hikes later in the year.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
“I bet you get tons of free food,” Amanda says, and hikes her thumb back toward where Bo stands in the dining room.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
Nor was she in the mood to admit that her relationship with business had worsened after she hiked National Insurance tax for employers.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Egg companies significantly hiked prices in 2022 and again in 2024 and 2025 after a severe supply shortage that the industry attributed to avian flu.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
In addition, there was an element of demand destruction, especially in Asia, where flights were canceled, rationing was imposed and import duties on oil were hiked, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Rinderknecht has acknowledged he hiked up to the area on the night of the fire, and cellphone evidence shows he placed several 911 calls reporting the flames.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
If I had hiked that against almost any other measure, we would all be feeling pretty proud of me now.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
“It would be strange for the Fed to respond to that set of data by hiking when it chose not to in June.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The Trinity Alps Wilderness, about three hours north of Sacramento, offers hiking trails, waterfalls, alpine lakes and smaller crowds than at popular national parks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Despite the case for hiking rates, there’s reason to believe the Fed will keep rates unchanged at this month’s meeting.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
The pair are thought to have been out hiking as the blaze spread rapidly through the province on Thursday.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
The rocks slide and crunch beneath our hiking boots.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
