hitch a ride

Idioms  

1. Also, thumb a ride. Solicit a free ride, especially by hitchhiking. For example, I've no car; can I hitch a ride home with you? or He was hoping to thumb a ride to the stadium. The verb hitch here alludes to walking unevenly, presumably to hop into a car or truck; raising one's thumb is the traditional signal for stopping a car on the road. [First half of 1900s]

---

Example Sentences

“I would gladly hitch a ride with friendly smugglers, as Edmond Dantès did,” she thought, “but that business about being buried at sea sounds frightfully cold, and I am not much of a swimmer in any case. . . . My heavens! What is that dreadful row?”

From Literature

“After my shock wears off, and we exchange brief pleasantries, I ask if we can hitch a ride back to Ashton Place. ‘Only if you can bake!’ he says.

From Literature

Stremberg, then 24, and his buddy were going to hitch a ride on a log truck bound for San Francisco, catch a flight to Europe, and see the world.

From Los Angeles Times

Amira and her husband finally managed to hitch a ride on a pick-up truck carrying a cargo of vegetables.

From BBC

Would she be willing to hitch a ride with a crew that summer?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cruise
• drift
• drive
• float
• go
• go with
• guide
• move
• sit
• travel