hit

American  

[hit] / hɪt /

verb (used with object)

• hits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hit,
  past participle,  past
• hitting
  present participle

1. to deal a blow or stroke to.

   Hit the nail with the hammer.

2. 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.

3. to reach with a missile, a weapon, a blow, or the like, as one throwing, shooting, or striking.

   Did the bullet hit him?

4. to succeed in striking.

   With his final shot he hit the mark.

5. Baseball.

   1. to make (a base hit).

      He hit a single and a home run.

   2. bat.

6. to drive or propel by a stroke.

   to hit a ball onto the green.

7. to have a marked effect or influence on; affect severely.

   We were all hit by the change in management.

8. to assail effectively and sharply (often followed byout ).

   The speech hits out at warmongering.

9. to request or demand of.

   He hit me for a loan.

10. to reach or attain (a specified level or amount).

    Prices are expected to hit a new low.

    The new train can hit 100 miles per hour.

11. 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?

12. to land on, arrive in, or go to: When does Harry hit town?

    The troops hit the beach at 0800.

    When does Harry hit town?

    I’ve got plans to hit the club with my girls tonight.

13. 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.

14. to come or light upon; meet with; find.

    to hit the right answer.

15. to agree with; suit exactly.

    I'm sure this purple shirt will hit Alfred's fancy.

16. to solve or guess correctly; come upon the right answer or solution.

    You've hit it!

17. to succeed in representing or producing exactly.

    to hit a likeness in a portrait.

18. Informal. to begin to travel on.

    Let's hit the road.

    What time should we hit the trail?

19. Slang. to kill; murder.

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verb (used without object)

• hits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hit,
  past participle,  past
• hitting
  present participle

1. to strike with a missile, a weapon, or the like; deal a blow or blows.

   The armies hit at dawn.

2. to come into collision (often followed by against, on, orupon ).

   The door hit against the wall.

3. (of an internal-combustion engine) to ignite a mixture of air and fuel as intended.

   This jalopy is hitting on all cylinders.

4. to come or light (usually followed by upon oron ).

   to hit on a new way.

noun

• hits
  plural

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

2. a stroke that reaches an object; blow.

3. a stroke of satire, censure, etc..

   a hit at complacency.

4. Baseball. base hit.

5. Backgammon.

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

   2. any winning game.

6. a successful stroke, performance, or production; success.

   The play is a hit.

7. Slang. a dose of a narcotic drug.

8. Digital Technology.

   1. (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.

   2. an instance of accessing a website.

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

verb phrase

1. hit out

   1. to deal a blow aimlessly.

      a child hitting out in anger and frustration.

   2. to make a violent verbal attack.

      Critics hit out at the administration's new energy policy.

2. hit off

   1. to represent or describe precisely or aptly.

      In his new book he hits off the American temperament with amazing insight.

   2. to imitate, especially in order to satirize.

3. hit up

   1. to ask to borrow money from.

      He hit me up for ten bucks.

   2. to inject a narcotic drug into a vein.

4. hit on to make a sexual advance to.

   guys who hit on girls at social events.

idioms

1. hit the bottle, bottle.

2. hit the high spots,

   1. to go out on the town; go nightclubbing.

      We'll hit the high spots when you come to town.

   2. 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.

3. hit it off, to be congenial or compatible; get along; agree.

   We hit it off immediately with the new neighbors.

   My sister and Ellen never really hit it off.

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

5. hit or miss, without concern for correctness or detail; haphazardly.

   The paint job had been done hit or miss.

hit British  

/ hɪt /

verb

1. (also intr) to deal (a blow or stroke) to (a person or thing); strike

   the man hit the child

2. to come into violent contact with

   the car hit the tree

3. to reach or strike with a missile, thrown object, etc

   to hit a target

4. to make or cause to make forceful contact; knock or bump

   I hit my arm on the table

5. to propel or cause to move by striking

   to hit a ball

6. cricket to score (runs)

7. to affect (a person, place, or thing) suddenly or adversely

   his illness hit his wife very hard

8. to become suddenly apparent to (a person)

   the reason for his behaviour hit me and made the whole episode clear

9. to achieve or reach

   to hit the jackpot

   unemployment hit a new high

10. to experience or encounter

    I've hit a slight snag here

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

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

13. to guess correctly or find out by accident

    you have hit the answer

14. informal to set out on (a road, path, etc)

    let's hit the road

15. informal to arrive or appear in

    he will hit town tomorrow night

16. informal to demand or request from

    he hit me for a pound

17. slang to drink an excessive amount of (alcohol)

    to hit the bottle

18. slang music start playing

19. slang to have sexual intercourse

20. slang to go to bed

21. to be completely taken by surprise

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noun

1. an impact or collision

2. a shot, blow, etc, that reaches its object

3. an apt, witty, or telling remark

4. informal

   1. a person or thing that gains wide appeal

      she's a hit with everyone

   2. ( as modifier )

      a hit record

5. informal a stroke of luck

6. slang

   1. a murder carried out as the result of an underworld vendetta or rivalry

   2. ( as modifier )

      a hit squad

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

8. computing a single visit to a website

9. informal to make a favourable impression on

hit More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing hit

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

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Synonym Usage

See strike, beat. See blow ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hitter
  noun
• nonhit
  noun
• outhit
  verb (used with object)
• hitless
  adjective
• hittable
  adjective
• self-hitting
  adjective
• unhit
  adjective
• unhittable
  adjective
• well-hit
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hits
  plural

Participles

• hitting
  present
• hit
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hit
  simple
• hits
  simple
• have hit
  perfect
• has hit
  perfect
• am hitting
  progressive
• are hitting
  progressive
• is hitting
  progressive
• have been hitting
  perfect progressive
• has been hitting
  perfect progressive

Past

• hit
  simple
• had hit
  perfect
• was hitting
  progressive
• were hitting
  progressive
• had been hitting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hit
  simple
• will have hit
  perfect
• will be hitting
  progressive
• will have been hitting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of hit

First recorded before 1100; 1865–70, hit for def. 5a; Middle English hitten, Old English hittan; perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse hitta “to come upon (by chance), meet with”

Explanation

When you hit someone, you smack or strike them — either with an object or with your hand. If you're frustrated about how slowly the traffic is moving, you might hit the dashboard of your car with your fist. Ouch. A boxer can hit a punching bag, and you can slip and hit your head on a chair. Other kinds of hits include bombs, bullets, or missiles striking targets; assassins or "hitmen" killing someone for pay; and reaching a certain goal, like when you hit a high note or your income hits six figures. You can also colloquially "hit the road," or get going; and "hit up" your friend for five dollars, or ask to borrow it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hit hits hitting

The 10-year German Bund yield hit a 15-year high of 3.276% as eurozone bonds remained vulnerable to elevated energy prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

The operation to buy yen came after the unit hit 163.99 per dollar last month, its weakest since 1986.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

In one trading location at least, Anthropic has already hit the magic $2 trillion valuation that its shareholders and AI bulls were seeking as confirmation and vindiation of the whole AI ecosystem.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

Pramod Poudel, who lives in Uckfield in East Sussex, told the BBC he has not heard from his family since the flood hit on Wednesday.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

“Whatever you pick up. I’ll send you a website with archer builds. When you hit endgame, we’ll find or make whatever you need.”

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

Yamamoto gave up a leadoff homer to Drake Baldwin but was lights out from there, allowing only three more hits and striking out eight before he exited with one out in the seventh inning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Plus, the CIA director visits Russia and Canada hits back with retaliatory tariffs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Bailey had a sack, three quarterback hits and also forced a fumble against the Saints.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Raised in Tennessee, she rose to fame in the late 1960s with hits that bridged country and pop music.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Exactly how tall the wave becomes, and how fast it is going when it hits land, depends on the shape of the ocean floor and of the shoreline it is approaching.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

And once you ask what specific fund you should put the money into, you’ll start hitting the upsells.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

The total number of homes for sale rose 0.5% week over week, hitting their highest level since May.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

His grandmother suffered minor injuries after hitting a windowsill on the way down.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Inspired, “I knocked all of the paint off of our garage door, hitting balls.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

They start with “Over the Rainbow,” and Pua strums along, hitting most of the chords as Dad calls them to her.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Related Words

• bat
• batter
• beat
• belt
• blast
• kick
• knock
• knock out
• nail
• pop
• punch
• slap
• smack
• whack