hitch
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.
- to harness (an animal) to a vehicle (often followed by up).
- to raise with jerks (usually followed by up); hike up: to hitch up one's trousers.
- to move or draw (something) with a jerk.
- Slang. to bind by marriage vows; unite in marriage; marry: They got hitched in '79.
- to catch, as on a projection; snag: He hitched his jeans on a nail and tore them.
- to stick, as when caught.
- to fasten oneself or itself to something (often followed by on).
- to move roughly or jerkily: The old buggy hitched along.
- to hobble or limp.
- the act or fact of fastening, as to something, especially temporarily.
- 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).
- Military Slang. a period of military service: a three-year hitch in the Navy.
- an unexpected difficulty, obstacle, delay, etc.: a hitch in our plans for the picnic.
- a hitching movement; jerk or pull.
- a hitching gait; a hobble or limp.
- a fastening that joins a movable tool to the mechanism that pulls it.
- Mining.
- a fault having a throw less than the thickness of a coal seam being mined.
- a notch cut in a wall or the like to hold the end of a stull or other timber.
- hitch up, to harness an animal to a wagon, carriage, or the like.
Origin of hitch
1Synonyms for hitch
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms for hitch
hitch
2- a minnow, Lavinia exilicauda, inhabiting streams in the area of San Francisco and the Sacramento River basin.
Origin of hitch
2hitch
3Origin of hitch
3Related Words for hitch
interruption, mishap, snag, glitch, drawback, impediment, snafu, hindrance, tether, joker, stoppage, bug, delay, hang-up, catch, discontinuance, trouble, tangle, check, blockExamples from the Web for hitch
Contemporary Examples of hitch
When Hitch is feeling good, when he is not in pain, he throws himself into the business of preproduction.
Hitch picks up his cane, pushes her aside, and laboriously tries to get to his feet, saying, “I'll do it myself.”
In 1945 or 1946, Hitch and Alma were in New York with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, on a publicity tour.
After everything is in order and the call has been placed, Hitch picks up the receiver and says “How do you do?”
For weeks preceding the bash, Hitch refuses to have anything to do with it.
Historical Examples of hitch
Now, constable, do you want to hitch the other end of that arrangement on my wrist?
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
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 SystemHorace Brown Fyfe
Friendship reigned without a hitch from one end of the feast to the other.
L'AssommoirEmile Zola
I expect he's all right, and there's been some hitch in getting the news through.
The Education of Eric LaneStephen McKenna
hitch
- to fasten or become fastened with a knot or tie, esp temporarily
- (often foll by up) to connect (a horse, team, etc); harness
- (tr often foll by up) to pull up (the trousers, a skirt, etc) with a quick jerk
- (intr) mainly US to move in a halting mannerto hitch along
- to entangle or become entangledthe thread was hitched on the reel
- (tr; passive) slang to marry (esp in the phrase get hitched)
- informal to obtain (a ride or rides) by hitchhiking
- an impediment or obstacle, esp one that is temporary or minora hitch in the proceedings
- 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
- a sudden jerk; tug; pullhe gave it a hitch and it came loose
- mainly US a hobbling gaitto walk with a hitch
- a device used for fastening
- informal a ride obtained by hitchhiking
- US and Canadian slang a period of time spent in prison, in the army, etc
Word Origin for hitch
Word Origin and History for hitch
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.
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.