hit-and-run

[ hit-n-ruhn ]
See synonyms for hit-and-run on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. guilty of fleeing the scene of an accident or injury one has caused, especially a vehicular accident, thereby attempting to evade being identified and held responsible: a hit-and-run driver.

  2. involving or resulting from such action or conduct: hit-and-run fatalities.

  1. Baseball. pertaining to or noting a play in which, to get a head start, a base runner begins to run to the next base as the pitcher delivers the ball to the batter, who must try to hit it in order to protect the runner.

  2. marked by taking flight immediately after a quick, concentrated attack: a hit-and-run raid.

verb (used without object),hit-and-ran, hit-and-run·ning.
  1. Baseball. to attempt or execute a hit-and-run play.

Origin of hit-and-run

1
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Other words from hit-and-run

  • hit-and-runner, noun

Words Nearby hit-and-run

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hit-and-run in a sentence

  • A detective brings you a minute sample of paint taken from the clothing of a hit-and-run victim.

    The Atomic Fingerprint | Bernard Keisch
  • A detective brings you a minute 43 sample of paint taken from the clothing of a hit-and-run victim.

    The Atomic Fingerprint | Bernard Keisch
  • He wanted to know what fouls were, and how to steal bases, and he was nonplussed by such terms as “hit-and-run.”

    The Young Pitcher | Zane Grey
  • He was struck by a hit-and-run car as he walked from his office to the railroad station.

  • Pete got the signal for a hit-and-run play and swung at the third ball.

    The Lucky Seventh | Ralph Henry Barbour

British Dictionary definitions for hit-and-run

hit-and-run

adjective(prenominal)
    • involved in or denoting a motor-vehicle accident in which the driver leaves the scene without stopping to give assistance, inform the police, etc

    • (as noun): a hit-and-run

  1. (of an attack, raid, etc) relying on surprise allied to a rapid departure from the scene of operations for the desired effect: hit-and-run tactics

  1. baseball denoting a play in which a base runner begins to run as the pitcher throws the ball to the batter

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