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hotch

American  
[hoch] / hɒtʃ /

verb (used without object)

  1. to fidget; shift one's weight from one foot to the other.


verb (used with object)

  1. to cause to fidget or shiver.

Etymology

Origin of hotch

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (north) hotchen; akin to Dutch hotsen “to jolt,” from dialectal German hotzen “to move up and down,” French hocher “to jog, shake” ( Old French hochier, from Germanic)

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.

It is derived from the verb "hotch" - to swarm', dating back to 1797.

From BBC • Jun. 25, 2025

Gallimaufry is 'Galimathias,' a muddle, or hotch potch.

From Shakespeare and Music With Illustrations from the Music of the 16th and 17th centuries by Naylor, Edward W. (Edward Woodall)

This tremendous gallimaufry or hotch potch, produced, as some suppose, an intolerable stench, and impregnated the waters with salt, sulphur, and bitumen.

From Dealings with the Dead, Volume I (of 2) by School, A Sexton of the Old

Dinna hotch owre muckle, or ye'll maybe gang doon through, and I'm tellin' ye, ye'll rue it gin ye fa' on oor Meg and disturb her in her mornin' sleep.

From Bog-Myrtle and Peat Tales Chiefly of Galloway Gathered from the Years 1889 to 1895 by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

In many words is a superfluous t, as in hitch, ditch, pitch, witch, switch, stitch, flitch, stretch, sketch, etch, fetch, wretch, notch, botch, hotch, potch, watch, latch, match, batch, catch, hatch, patch, hutch.

From Guide to the Kindergarten and Intermediate Class and Moral Culture of Infancy. by Mann, Mary E.