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hitch definition

hitch (hic̸h)

intransitive verb

  1. to move jerkily; walk haltingly; limp; hobble
  2. to become fastened or caught, as by becoming entangled or hooking on to something
  3. to strike the feet together in moving: said of a horse
  4. ☆ Slang to hitchhike

Etymology: ME hicchen, to move jerkily < ?

transitive verb

  1. to move, pull, or shift with jerks hitch your chair up to the table
  2. to fasten with a hook, knot, harness, etc.; unite; tie: often with up to hitch a wagon to a tractor
  3. Informal to marry: usually in the passive
  4. ☆ Slang to hitchhike

noun

  1. a short, sudden movement or pull; tug; jerk
  2. a hobble; limp
  3. a hindrance; obstacle; entanglement
  4. a fastening or catch; thing or part used to connect or join together a trailer hitch on the car's bumper
  5. ☆ Slang a ride in hitchhiking
  6. ☆ Slang a period of time served, as of military service, imprisonment, etc.
  7. a kind of knot that can be easily undone, for fastening a line as to a ring or pole
hitch Idioms

without a hitch

smoothly, easily, and successfully

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

hitch Synonyms

hitch

n.

  1. A knot

    loop, noose, yoke; see knot 1, tie 1.

  2. A difficulty

    block, obstacle, tangle, glitch; see catch 4, difficulty 1, impediment 1.


hitch

v.

  1. To harness

    yoke, tie up, strap, couple, lash, moor, chain, hook; see also fasten 1, join 1.

  2. To move with a jerk

    hobble, waggle, hop; see limp, reel, totter 2, wobble.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

hitch Usage Examples

Object

  • lift: He had hitched a lift out of Kuwait on a New Zealand war plane.

Converse of object

  • hike: Prior to that, however, he has, at the age of 19, hitch hiked all over Europe.

Adjective modifier

  • last-minute: MTV votes on union recognition A postal ballot of MTV staff is going ahead despite a last-minute hitch.

Modifies a noun

  • hiker: Hitch hiker 's probably should never have been made into a film.

Noun used with modifier

  • clove: By rolling the clove hitch up every few moves you will have a back-up should the waist prussic fail.
hitch usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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MLA Style

"hitch." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 3 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/hitch>

APA Style

hitch. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 3rd, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/hitch

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