hit

[ hit ]

verb (used with object)

, hit, hit·ting.

1. to deal a blow or stroke to:

   Hit the nail with the hammer.

2. to come against with an impact or collision, as a missile, a flying fragment, a falling body, or the like:

   The car hit the tree.

3. to reach with a missile, a weapon, a blow, or the like, as one throwing, shooting, or striking:

   Did the bullet hit him?

4. to succeed in striking:

   With his final shot he hit the mark.

5. Baseball.
   1. to make (a base hit):

      He hit a single and a home run.

   2. bat ¹( def 11 ).
6. to drive or propel by a stroke:

   to hit a ball onto the green.

7. to have a marked effect or influence on; affect severely:

   We were all hit by the change in management.

8. to assail effectively and sharply (often followed by out ):

   The speech hits out at warmongering.

9. to request or demand of:

   He hit me for a loan.

10. to reach or attain (a specified level or amount):

    Prices are expected to hit a new low.

    The new train can hit 100 miles per hour.

11. to be published in or released to; appear in:

    When will this report hit the papers?

    What will happen when the story hits the front page?

12. to land on, arrive in, or go to: When does Harry hit town?

    The troops hit the beach at 0800.

    When does Harry hit town?

    I’ve got plans to hit the club with my girls tonight.

13. to give (someone) another playing card, drink, portion, etc.:

    If the dealer hits me with an ace, I'll win the hand.

    Bartender, hit me again.

14. to come or light upon; meet with; find:

    to hit the right answer.

15. to agree with; suit exactly:

    I'm sure this purple shirt will hit Alfred's fancy.

16. to solve or guess correctly; come upon the right answer or solution:

    You've hit it!

17. to succeed in representing or producing exactly:

    to hit a likeness in a portrait.

18. Informal. to begin to travel on:

    Let's hit the road.

    What time should we hit the trail?

19. Slang. to kill; murder.

verb (used without object)

, hit, hit·ting.

1. to strike with a missile, a weapon, or the like; deal a blow or blows:

   The armies hit at dawn.

2. to come into collision (often followed by against, on, or upon ):

   The door hit against the wall.

3. (of an internal-combustion engine) to ignite a mixture of air and fuel as intended:

   This jalopy is hitting on all cylinders.

4. to come or light (usually followed by upon or on ):

   to hit on a new way.

noun

1. an impact or collision, as of one thing against another.
2. a stroke that reaches an object; blow.
3. a stroke of satire, censure, etc.:

   a hit at complacency.

4. Baseball. base hit.
5. Backgammon.
   1. a game won by a player after the opponent has thrown off one or more men from the board.
   2. any winning game.
6. a successful stroke, performance, or production; success:

   The play is a hit.

7. Slang. a dose of a narcotic drug.
8. Digital Technology.
   1. (in information retrieval) an instance of successfully locating an item of data, as in a database or on the internet:

      When I search for my name, I get lots of hits.

   2. an instance of accessing a website.
9. Slang. a killing, murder, or assassination, especially one carried out by criminal prearrangements.

verb phrase

1. Slang.
   1. to ask to borrow money from:

      He hit me up for ten bucks.

   2. to inject a narcotic drug into a vein.
2. 1. to represent or describe precisely or aptly:

      In his new book he hits off the American temperament with amazing insight.

   2. to imitate, especially in order to satirize.
3. Slang. to make a sexual advance to:

   guys who hit on girls at social events.

4. 1. to deal a blow aimlessly:

      a child hitting out in anger and frustration.

   2. to make a violent verbal attack:

      Critics hit out at the administration's new energy policy.

hit

/ hɪt /

verb

1. also intr to deal (a blow or stroke) to (a person or thing); strike

   the man hit the child

2. to come into violent contact with

   the car hit the tree

3. to reach or strike with a missile, thrown object, etc

   to hit a target

4. to make or cause to make forceful contact; knock or bump

   I hit my arm on the table

5. to propel or cause to move by striking

   to hit a ball

6. cricket to score (runs)
7. to affect (a person, place, or thing) suddenly or adversely

   his illness hit his wife very hard

8. to become suddenly apparent to (a person)

   the reason for his behaviour hit me and made the whole episode clear

9. to achieve or reach

   unemployment hit a new high

   to hit the jackpot

10. to experience or encounter

    I've hit a slight snag here

11. slang.
    to murder (a rival criminal) in fulfilment of an underworld contract or vendetta
12. to accord or suit (esp in the phrase hit one's fancy )
13. to guess correctly or find out by accident

    you have hit the answer

14. informal.
    to set out on (a road, path, etc)

    let's hit the road

15. informal.
    to arrive or appear in

    he will hit town tomorrow night

16. informal.
    to demand or request from

    he hit me for a pound

17. slang.
    to drink an excessive amount of (alcohol)

    to hit the bottle

18. hit it slang.
    hit it music start playing
19. hit skins slang.
    hit skins to have sexual intercourse
20. hit the sack slang.
    hit the sackhit the hay to go to bed
21. not know what has hit one
    not know what has hit one to be completely taken by surprise

noun

1. an impact or collision
2. a shot, blow, etc, that reaches its object
3. an apt, witty, or telling remark
4. informal.
   1. a person or thing that gains wide appeal

      she's a hit with everyone

   2. ( as modifier )

      a hit record

5. informal.
   a stroke of luck
6. slang.
   1. a murder carried out as the result of an underworld vendetta or rivalry
   2. ( as modifier )

      a hit squad

7. slang.
   a drag on a cigarette, a swig from a bottle, a line of a drug, or an injection of heroin
8. computing a single visit to a website
9. make a hit with informal.
   make a hit withscore a hit with to make a favourable impression on

Other Words From

• hit·less adjective
• hit·ta·ble adjective
• hit·ter noun
• non·hit noun
• out·hit verb (used with object) outhit outhitting
• self-hit·ting adjective
• un·hit adjective
• un·hit·ta·ble adjective
• well-hit adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hit¹

First recorded before 1100; 1865–70, Americanism hit fordef 5a; Middle English hitten, Old English hittan; perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse hitta “to come upon (by chance), meet with”

Word History and Origins

Origin of hit¹

Old English hittan, from Old Norse hitta

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. hit it off, Informal. to be congenial or compatible; get along; agree:

   We hit it off immediately with the new neighbors.

   My sister and Ellen never really hit it off.

2. hit or miss, without concern for correctness or detail; haphazardly:

   The paint job had been done hit or miss.

3. hit the books, Slang. to study hard; cram.
4. hit the bottle, Slang. bottle ¹( def 8 ).
5. hit the high spots,
   1. to go out on the town; go nightclubbing:

      We'll hit the high spots when you come to town.

   2. to do something in a quick or casual manner, paying attention to only the most important or obvious facets or items:

      When I clean the house I hit the high spots and that's about all. This course will hit the high spots of ancient history.

More idioms and phrases containing hit

• (hit) below the belt
• can't hit the broad side of a barn
• heavy hitter
• make a hit
• pinch hitter
• smash hit

Synonym Study

See strike, beat. See blow ¹.

Example Sentences

Return to the car and restart it, and the radio is now magically on channel 2, tormenting you with the lamest, er, greatest popular hits of our day.

From Popular-Science

Still, it’s unlikely that Popeyes’ pescatarian offering will come close to matching its big-clucking-deal hit.

From Washington Post

Leonard said the NBA was putting “money over health,” a direct hit on the league’s values.

From Washington Post

The Driver twists, slamming the hit man’s head against one wall, then another.

From Washington Post

She noted that categories normally known for brand licensing agreements — entertainment venues, sports, and experiential industries — have taken a hit due to the pandemic.

From Digiday

The most recent issue contains detailed instructions for building car bombs, and the magazine frequently draws up hit-lists.

From The Daily Beast

The big slug happened to hit the suspect in the street, passing through his arm and then striking Police Officer Andrew Dossi.

From The Daily Beast

I was friends with her drummer from Sleater-Kinney, and I met Carrie, and we just hit it off.

From The Daily Beast

We hit it off amazingly well, and started a real friendship.

From The Daily Beast

They were the machine gun bullets coming from the ambush when my company got hit.

From The Daily Beast

Many of us had been hit by the balls, but a bruise or a graze of the skin was the worst consequence that had ensued.

From Project Gutenberg

He shut his fist and hit Butterface a weak but well intended right-hander on the nose.

From Project Gutenberg

One of the men seemed pretty bad, being hit in the head and in the body.

From Project Gutenberg

He could hit upon no plan, and he couldn't muster confidence to turn in.

From Project Gutenberg

The Frenchman never withdrew his blade; but his very anxiety to make a hit was defeating itself.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bat
• batter
• beat
• belt
• blast
• kick
• knock
• knock out
• nail
• pop
• punch
• slap
• smack
• whack