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hitch1

[hich]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to fasten or tie, especially temporarily, by means of a hook, rope, strap, etc.; tether: Steve hitched the horse to one of the posts.
  2. to harness (an animal) to a vehicle (often followed by up).
  3. to raise with jerks (usually followed by up); hike up: to hitch up one's trousers.
  4. to move or draw (something) with a jerk.
  5. Slang. to bind by marriage vows; unite in marriage; marry: They got hitched in '79.
  6. to catch, as on a projection; snag: He hitched his jeans on a nail and tore them.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to stick, as when caught.
  2. to fasten oneself or itself to something (often followed by on).
  3. to move roughly or jerkily: The old buggy hitched along.
  4. to hobble or limp.
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noun
  1. the act or fact of fastening, as to something, especially temporarily.
  2. any of various knots or loops made to attach a rope to something in such a way as to be readily loosened.Compare bend1(def 17).
  3. Military Slang. a period of military service: a three-year hitch in the Navy.
  4. an unexpected difficulty, obstacle, delay, etc.: a hitch in our plans for the picnic.
  5. a hitching movement; jerk or pull.
  6. a hitching gait; a hobble or limp.
  7. a fastening that joins a movable tool to the mechanism that pulls it.
  8. Mining.
    1. a fault having a throw less than the thickness of a coal seam being mined.
    2. a notch cut in a wall or the like to hold the end of a stull or other timber.
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Verb Phrases
  1. hitch up, to harness an animal to a wagon, carriage, or the like.
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Origin of hitch1

1400–50; 1840–50 for def 5; late Middle English hytchen, of obscure origin
Related formshitch·er, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms for hitch on Thesaurus.com
1. attach, connect, hook. 2. yoke. 14. hindrance, catch, impediment.

Antonyms

1. loose, loosen.

hitch2

[hich]
noun
  1. a minnow, Lavinia exilicauda, inhabiting streams in the area of San Francisco and the Sacramento River basin.
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Origin of hitch2

origin uncertain

hitch3

[hich]
verb (used with or without object), noun Informal.
  1. hitchhike.
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Origin of hitch3

First recorded in 1865–70; by shortening
Related formshitch·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hitch

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Now, constable, do you want to hitch the other end of that arrangement on my wrist?

  • There had been a hitch at her last funeral, but she had been only an assistant there.

    The Village Watch-Tower

    (AKA Kate Douglas Riggs) Kate Douglas Wiggin

  • Then they had gathered around to hitch rides, and had been in control ever since.

    Satellite System

    Horace Brown Fyfe

  • Friendship reigned without a hitch from one end of the feast to the other.

    L'Assommoir

    Emile Zola

  • I expect he's all right, and there's been some hitch in getting the news through.

British Dictionary definitions for hitch

hitch

verb
  1. to fasten or become fastened with a knot or tie, esp temporarily
  2. (often foll by up) to connect (a horse, team, etc); harness
  3. (tr often foll by up) to pull up (the trousers, a skirt, etc) with a quick jerk
  4. (intr) mainly US to move in a halting mannerto hitch along
  5. to entangle or become entangledthe thread was hitched on the reel
  6. (tr; passive) slang to marry (esp in the phrase get hitched)
  7. informal to obtain (a ride or rides) by hitchhiking
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noun
  1. an impediment or obstacle, esp one that is temporary or minora hitch in the proceedings
  2. a knot for fastening a rope to posts, other ropes, etc, that can be undone by pulling against the direction of the strain that holds it
  3. a sudden jerk; tug; pullhe gave it a hitch and it came loose
  4. mainly US a hobbling gaitto walk with a hitch
  5. a device used for fastening
  6. informal a ride obtained by hitchhiking
  7. US and Canadian slang a period of time spent in prison, in the army, etc
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Derived Formshitcher, noun

Word Origin

C15: of uncertain origin
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 hitch

v.

mid-15c., probably from Middle English icchen "to move as with a jerk, to stir" (c.1200). It lacks cognates in other languages. The connection with icchen may be in notion of "hitching up" pants or boots with a jerking motion. Sense of "become fastened," especially by a hook, first recorded 1570s, originally nautical. Meaning "to marry" is from 1844 (to hitch horses together "get along well," especially of married couples, is from 1837, American English). Short for hitchhike (v.) by 1931. Related: Hitched; hitching.

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n.

1660s, "a limp or hobble;" 1670s, "an abrupt movement," from hitch (v.). Meaning "a means by which a rope is made fast" is from 1769, nautical. The sense of "obstruction" is first recorded 1748; military sense of "enlistment" is from 1835.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper