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.
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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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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.
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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
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.
Economists are now debating whether the Fed’s next move will be a rate cut or a rate hike.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
She recently invited one 21-year-old founder she was about to invest in on a 4 a.m. hike to see “whether he properly showed up.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
The price hike comes at a tough time for EV sellers.
From Barron's • May 17, 2026
Some half-a-dozen foreign tourists that the BBC spoke to also blamed longer and more cumbersome visa procedures and a hike in the five-year visa fees for the decline in visitor numbers.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
“And what if the fire moves faster than we can hike? We’d be climbing right into the fire. Not smart. Our only escape would be to outrun the fire.”
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
