I. ˈhit, usu -id.+V verb
( hit ; hit ; hitting ; hits )
Etymology: Middle English hitten, from Old Norse hitta to hit upon, meet up with, hit; perhaps akin to Old English hentan to pursue, attack, seize — more at hunt
transitive verb
1.
a. : to reach or get at by striking with or as if with a sudden blow
hit a ball
be hit by adversity
b. : to come in quick forceful contact with
the ball hit the house and bounced off
2.
a. : to cause to come into sudden forceful contact
hit his hand against the wall
hit the stick against the railing
b. : to deliver (a blow) usually in a vigorous or violent manner : strike
c. : to strike a blow at or to
hit the table suddenly
hit the boy in the eye
3.
a. : to affect especially strongly and to the detriment or distress of
life had never hit her very hard — Nevil Shute
drought hit the range country early that year
b. : to criticize adversely : censure
no prime minister in our history has been hit so hard by a biographer who knew him — Times Literary Supplement
4. : to make a request of or a claim or demand upon (as for a loan or a job)
hit his friend for 10 dollars
— often used with up
hit up his father's friends for work
5.
a. : to come upon, find, or discover by or as if by chance or accident
spent years in prospecting without ever hitting gold
b. : to meet with, reach, or experience by or as if by chance or accident
after several weeks of travel, we hit our first snowstorm
hit a run of bad luck
6. : to reach or attain by or as if by hitting: as
a. : to accord with usually exactly and purposely
writing that hits the public taste precisely
b. : to act in precise accord with
hit a musical cue
c. : to reach as a rate, standard, or level
a car that can hit 100 mph.
prices hit an all-time high
when you hit the middle sixties
d. of fish : to bite at or on : take
in certain times of the season fish will only hit live bait
e. : to appear in or on (as for public sale, consumption, use)
sweet corn hits the markets in New England in midsummer
a magazine that hits the newsstands early in the month
morning papers often hit the streets in the late evening
this recording will hit the jukeboxes soon
f. of an author : to achieve publication in
took him some time to hit the better magazines
g. : to be reported in
hit the front pages
h. : to impinge on or command the attention of
advertising techniques designed to hit the subconscious mind
i. : stress , emphasize
always hit the message-bearing words firmly
inclined to hit the wrong syllable
j. : to arrive at, in, or on usually for a brief or transitory stay
arranged to hit town two days before his brother
when the first forces hit the beach
planned on hitting all the new night spots
k.
(1) : to reach or strike (as a target) for a score in a game or contest
unbelievable ability to hit the basket
(2) : to succeed in making (a scoring play)
hit three goals before their opponents were well warmed up
(3) slang : to win in a lottery or game of chance or acquire as if by so winning
hit first prize
an act that didn't hit the big money until he took it to New York
— often used with for and the thing or the amount gained
hit the numbers pool for $2000
hit the company education fund for a year in technical school
l. slang
(1) : to go, lie, or drop on or upon usually suddenly or at once
hit the deck
(2) : to get onto and begin to move along or travel on
hit the road
hit the right path
7. : to capture with precision (as a mood, an idea, a personal characteristic in a description or representation)
none of these analyses seems quite to hit the main characteristic — R.D.Ellmann
8. : to set in operation or cause to function by or as if by striking or touching
hit the lights
hitting slow chords on a guitar
had to hit the brakes suddenly
9. : to indulge in (as liquor) especially excessively, habitually, or compulsively
had been hitting the bottle for days
10.
a. : to deal another card to (a player at blackjack)
b. : to have another card dealt to (a hand in blackjack)
c. : fill vt 7
intransitive verb
1. : to strike or strike out at something with or as if with a sudden blow (as of the fist or a missile)
in the third round he began hitting wildly
hitting only about once in five shots
2.
a. : to come into forcible contact with something
when he fell, he hit hard
— often used with against
tipped over and hit against the wall and was damaged
b. : attack
guessed at where they would hit , and the date of D day — Dan Levin
c. of a fish : strike vi 15b
d. : to arrive with a disturbing or damaging effect
a heavy storm that hit just at sundown
had been still in school when the bad times hit
the grippe hit unusually severely that year
3.
a. : to meet or reach something aimed at or desired : succeed in attaining or obtaining something often by or as if by chance — often used with on or upon
hit on a solution
hit upon a satisfactory explanation
b. : to draw or be dealt a valuable card in poker
drew to an inside straight and hit
c. : to hit a blot
4. of a crop , now dialect : to germinate, grow, or yield well
5. obsolete : to be in agreement : suit — used with with
the scheme hit so exactly with my temper — Daniel Defoe
6. : to direct one's course : direct oneself
hit for the nearest lunchroom
in spring the peddlers hit up the coast with packs and carts
7. of an internal-combustion engine : to fire the charge in the cylinders
8.
a. : to be a winner (as in a lottery)
b. : to make a score (as in a game)
Synonyms: see strike
•
- hit a blot
- hit for six
- hit it off
- hit it up
- hit one's stride
- hit the books
- hit the bricks
- hit the hay
- hit the high points
- hit the jackpot
- hit the nail on the head
- hit the roof
- hit the silk
- hit the spot
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English hete, from hitten, v.
1.
a. : a blow striking an object aimed at — contrasted with miss
scored a hit on his first try
two hits and three misses out of five tries
b. : an impact of one thing against another : collision
2.
a. : a stroke of luck : a fortunate chance
answered the questions correctly by a series of lucky hits
b. : a theatrical production, book, or song that is conspicuously successful or popular ; broadly : anything that is exceedingly popular, pleasing, or successful
this new style is a big hit with the high-school set
c. : a win in various gambling games
a string of 20 hits on a pinball machine
3. : a censorious, sarcastic, or telling remark or statement
took a sharp hit at grasping politicians
4. : a backgammon game won after the opponent has removed some of his men
5. dialect : a bountiful crop — used especially of fruit
6. : a stroke in various games by which a ball is hit so as to result in a score, advancement of a runner, or some other advantage ; specifically in baseball : base hit
7. printing : impression 6b
even two hits of white ink didn't quite seem to cover the green cloth — Book Production
III. (|)hit, usu -id.+V
obs or dialect
variant of it
IV. verb
transitive verb
: impose : levy
hit him with a fine
•
- hit it big
- hit on
- hit the fan
- hit the ground running
- hit the wall
V. noun
1. : a quantity of a narcotic drug ingested at one time
2. : a premeditated murder usually committed by a member of a crime syndicate
3. : an instance of connecting to a particular Website
over a million hits per day