hit

[hit]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hit ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), hit, hit·ting.

to deal a blow or stroke to: Hit the nail with the hammer.

to come against with an impact or collision, as a missile, a flying fragment, a falling body, or the like: The car hit the tree.

to reach with a missile, a weapon, a blow, or the like, as one throwing, shooting, or striking: Did the bullet hit him?

to succeed in striking: With his final shot he hit the mark.

Baseball.

to make (a base hit): He hit a single and a home run.
bat¹(def 12).

to drive or propel by a stroke: to hit a ball onto the green.

to have a marked effect or influence on; affect severely: We were all hit by the change in management.

to assail effectively and sharply (often followed by out): The speech hits out at warmongering.

to request or demand of: He hit me for a loan.

to reach or attain (a specified level or amount): Prices are expected to hit a new low. The new train can hit 100 mph.

to be published in or released to; appear in: When will this report hit the papers? What will happen when the story hits the front page?

to land on or arrive in: The troops hit the beach at 0800. When does Harry hit town?

to give (someone) another playing card, drink, portion, etc.: If the dealer hits me with an ace, I'll win the hand. Bartender, hit me again.

to come or light upon; meet with; find: to hit the right road.

to agree with; suit exactly: I'm sure this purple shirt will hit Alfred's fancy.

to solve or guess correctly; come upon the right answer or solution: You've hit it!

to succeed in representing or producing exactly: to hit a likeness in a portrait.

Informal. to begin to travel on: Let's hit the road. What time shall we hit the trail?

verb (used without object), hit, hit·ting.

to strike with a missile, a weapon, or the like; deal a blow or blows: The armies hit at dawn.

to come into collision (often followed by against, on, or upon): The door hit against the wall.

Slang. to kill; murder.

(of an internal-combustion engine) to ignite a mixture of air and fuel as intended: This jalopy is hitting on all cylinders.

to come or light (usually followed by upon or on): to hit on a new way.

noun

an impact or collision, as of one thing against another.

a stroke that reaches an object; blow.

a stroke of satire, censure, etc.: a hit at complacency.

Baseball. base hit.

Backgammon.

a game won by a player after the opponent has thrown off one or more men from the board.
any winning game.

a successful stroke, performance, or production; success: The play is a hit.

Slang. a dose of a narcotic drug.

Digital Technology.

(in information retrieval) an instance of successfully locating an item of data, as in a database or on the Internet: When I search for my name, I get lots of hits.
an instance of accessing a website.

Slang. a killing, murder, or assassination, especially one carried out by criminal prearrangements.

Verb Phrases

hit off,

to represent or describe precisely or aptly: In his new book he hits off the American temperament with amazing insight.
to imitate, especially in order to satirize.

hit on, Slang. to make persistent sexual advances to: guys who hit on girls at social events.

hit out,

to deal a blow aimlessly: a child hitting out in anger and frustration.
to make a violent verbal attack: Critics hit out at the administration's new energy policy.

hit up, Slang.

to ask to borrow money from: He hit me up for ten bucks.
to inject a narcotic drug into a vein.

Idioms

hit it off, Informal. to be congenial or compatible; get along; agree: We hit it off immediately with the new neighbors. She and her brother had never really hit it off.

hit or miss, without concern for correctness or detail; haphazardly: The paint job had been done hit or miss.

hit the books, Slang. to study hard; cram.

hit the bottle, Slang. bottle¹(def 8).

hit the high spots,

to go out on the town; go nightclubbing: We'll hit the high spots when you come to town.
to do something in a quick or casual manner, paying attention to only the most important or obvious facets or items: When I clean the house I hit the high spots and that's about all. This course will hit the high spots of ancient history.

Origin of hit

before 1100; 1865–70, Americanism for def 5a; Middle English hitten, Old English hittan; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse hitta to come upon (by chance), meet with

Related formshit·less, adjectivehit·ta·ble, adjectivehit·ter, nounnon·hit, nounout·hit, verb (used with object), out·hit, out·hit·ting.self-hit·ting, adjectiveun·hit, adjectiveun·hit·ta·ble, adjectivewell-hit, adjective

Synonym study

1. See strike, beat. 25, 27, 29. See blow¹.

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

Related Words for hit

blow, bat, shot, punch, swing, winner, favorite, knock, beat, pop, nail, smack, batter, slap, blast, whack, kick, belt, crash, smash

Examples from the Web for hit

Contemporary Examples of hit

The big slug happened to hit the suspect in the street, passing through his arm and then striking Police Officer Andrew Dossi.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown
Michael Daly
January 7, 2015
I was friends with her drummer from Sleater-Kinney, and I met Carrie, and we just hit it off.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness
Marlow Stern
January 7, 2015
We hit it off amazingly well, and started a real friendship.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015
They were the machine gun bullets coming from the ambush when my company got hit.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015
Instead of going for the hole, I hit the ball directly into the water.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art
Alec Kubas-Meyer
January 2, 2015

Historical Examples of hit

But I kept looking and after awhile I was able to sit up and ask what hit me.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Often, during a thunderstorm a tree had been hit by lightning.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
One day she hit the shell in the wrong place--and they're still looking for the monkey.
Viviette
William J. Locke
As He knows so well where to hit us we must stifle our moans when He does so.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
I think even now that I might hit any large and goodly mark with a bow like this.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for hit

hit

verb hits, hitting or hit (mainly tr)

(also intr) to deal (a blow or stroke) to (a person or thing); strikethe man hit the child

to come into violent contact withthe car hit the tree

to reach or strike with a missile, thrown object, etcto hit a target

to make or cause to make forceful contact; knock or bumpI hit my arm on the table

to propel or cause to move by strikingto hit a ball

cricket to score (runs)

to affect (a person, place, or thing) suddenly or adverselyhis illness hit his wife very hard

to become suddenly apparent to (a person)the reason for his behaviour hit me and made the whole episode clear

to achieve or reachto hit the jackpot; unemployment hit a new high

to experience or encounterI've hit a slight snag here

slang to murder (a rival criminal) in fulfilment of an underworld contract or vendetta

to accord or suit (esp in the phrase hit one's fancy)

to guess correctly or find out by accidentyou have hit the answer

informal to set out on (a road, path, etc)let's hit the road

informal to arrive or appear inhe will hit town tomorrow night

informal, mainly US and Canadian to demand or request fromhe hit me for a pound

slang to drink an excessive amount of (alcohol)to hit the bottle

hit it music slang start playing

hit skins US slang to have sexual intercourse

hit the sack or hit the hay slang to go to bed

not know what has hit one to be completely taken by surprise

noun

an impact or collision

a shot, blow, etc, that reaches its object

an apt, witty, or telling remark

informal

a person or thing that gains wide appealshe's a hit with everyone
(as modifier)a hit record

informal a stroke of luck

slang

a murder carried out as the result of an underworld vendetta or rivalry
(as modifier)a hit squad

slang a drag on a cigarette, a swig from a bottle, a line of a drug, or an injection of heroin

computing a single visit to a website

make a hit with or score a hit with informal to make a favourable impression on

Word Origin for hit

Old English hittan, from Old Norse hitta

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 hit

late Old English hyttan, hittan "come upon, meet with, fall in with, 'hit' upon," from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse hitta "to light upon, meet with," also "to hit, strike;" Swedish hitta "to find," Danish and Norwegian hitte "to hit, find," from Proto-Germanic *hitjanan. Related: Hitting. Meaning shifted in late Old English period to "strike," via "to reach with a blow or missile," and replaced Old English slean in this sense. Original sense survives in phrases such as hit it off (1780, earlier in same sense hit it, 1630s) and is revived in hit on (1970s).

Underworld slang meaning "to kill by plan" is 1955 (as a noun in this sense from 1970). To hit the bottle "drink alcohol" is from 1889. To hit the nail on the head (1570s) is from archery. Hit the road "leave" is from 1873; to hit (someone) up "request something" is from 1917. Hit and run is 1899 as a baseball play, 1924 as a driver failing to stop at a crash he caused. To not know what hit (one) is from 1923.

late 15c., "a rebuke;" 1590s as "a blow," from hit (v.). Meaning "successful play, song, person," etc., 1811, is from the verbal sense of "to hit the mark, succeed" (c.1400). Underworld slang meaning "a killing" is from 1970. Meaning "dose of narcotic" is 1951, from phrases such as hit the bottle.

Idioms and Phrases with hit

hit

In addition to the idioms beginning with hit

hit a snag
hit below the belt
hit between the eyes
hit bottom
hit it big
hit it off
hit on
hit on all cylinders
hit one's stride
hit one where one lives
hit or miss
hit out
hit parade
hit the books
hit the bottle
hit the bricks
hit the bull's-eye
hit the ceiling
hit the deck
hit the fan
hit the ground running
hit the hay
hit the high spots
hit the jackpot
hit the mark
hit the nail on the head
hit the road
hit the roof
hit the sack
hit the spot
hit up for
hit upon

also see:

(hit) below the belt
can't hit the broad side of a barn
heavy hitter
make a hit
pinch hitter
smash hit