hitchhike

[hich-hahyk]

verb (used without object)

hitchhiked, hitchhiking 

1. to travel by standing on the side of the road and soliciting rides from passing vehicles.

verb (used with object)

hitchhiked, hitchhiking 

1. to ask for or get (a ride) by hitchhiking.

noun

1. an act or instance of hitchhiking.

hitchhike

/ ˈhɪtʃˌhaɪk /

verb

1. (intr) to travel by obtaining free lifts in motor vehicles

Other Word Forms

• hitchhiker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hitchhike¹

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; hitch ¹ + hike

Example Sentences

He said he "hitchhiked to get there, and had a tent, a dream, and three cans of Heinz sausages and beans".

From BBC

One shows the couple with the hitchhiking ghosts from the famous finish of Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride.

From Los Angeles Times

“Manchild” is accompanied by a playful music video that shows the singer hitchhiking with various incompetent men and bathing with pigs in her bra and underwear.

From Los Angeles Times

As a truck approaches, she attempts to hitchhike from the side of a desert road, only to strike out.

From Los Angeles Times

After his sophomore year he dropped out to find himself and embarked on a “pre-beatnik hitchhiking” trip and worked construction jobs.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hitch