hit on
Britishverb
-
to strike
-
Also: hit upon. to discover unexpectedly or guess correctly
-
slang to make sexual advances to (a person)
-
Also, hit upon . Discover, happen to find, as in I've hit upon a solution to this problem . [c. 1700]
-
Make sexual advances to someone, especially unwanted ones, as in You can't go into that bar without being hit on . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]
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.
A 2002 hit on the French presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Chevenement -- with a pineapple-flavoured missile at the Paris book fair -- would lead custard-pie throwing to be ruled a criminal offence.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
If these off-grid glitches are fixable learning pains, then power providers might only take a slight hit on their margins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Eventually, the companies hit on the solution: Get the customers hooked.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
A hit on MTV, the song drove sales of the band’s debut, “Shake Your Money Maker,” to sales of more than 5 million copies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Lina felt dizzy, as if she’d been hit on the head.
From "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau
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.
