/ hɪt; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
( hit·ting , hit , hit )
TOUCH SB / STH WITH FORCE
1.
[ vn ] hit sb/sth (with sth) to bring your hand, or an object you are holding, against sb/sth quickly and with force :
My parents never used to hit me.
He hit the nail squarely on the head with the hammer.
She hit him on the head with her umbrella.
2.
[ vn ] to come against sth/sb with force, especially causing damage or injury :
The bus hit the bridge.
I was hit by a falling stone.
3.
[ vn ] hit sth (on / against sth) to knock a part of your body against sth :
He hit his head on the low ceiling.
4.
[ vn ] [ often passive ] ( of a bullet, bomb, etc. or a person using them ) to reach and touch a person or thing suddenly and with force :
The town was hit by bombs again last night.
He was hit by a sniper.
BALL
5.
[ vn ] to bring a bat , etc. against a ball and push it away with force :
She hit the ball too hard and it went out of the court.
We've hit our ball over the fence!
6.
[ vn ] ( sport ) to score points by hitting a ball :
to hit a home run
HAVE BAD EFFECT
7.
to have a bad effect on sb/sth :
[ vn ]
The tax increases will certainly hit the poor.
His death didn't really hit me at first.
Rural areas have been worst hit by the strike.
Spain was one of the hardest hit countries.
[ v ]
A tornado hit on Tuesday night.
ATTACK
8.
to attack sb/sth :
[ vn ]
We hit the enemy when they least expected it.
[also v ]
REACH
9.
[ vn ] to reach a place :
Follow this footpath and you'll eventually hit the road.
The President hits town tomorrow.
10.
[ vn ] to reach a particular level :
Temperatures hit 40° yesterday.
The euro hit a record low in trading today.
PROBLEM / DIFFICULTY
11.
[ vn ] ( informal ) to experience sth difficult or unpleasant :
We seem to have hit a problem.
Everything was going well but then we hit trouble.
SUDDENLY REALIZE
12.
[ vn ] ( informal ) to come suddenly into your mind :
I couldn't remember where I'd seen him before, and then it suddenly hit me.
PRESS BUTTON
13.
[ vn ] ( informal ) to press sth such as a button to operate a machine, etc. :
Hit the brakes!
•
IDIOMS
- hit (it) big
- hit the buffers
- hit the ceiling / roof
- hit the deck
- hit the ground running
- hit the hay / sack
- hit sb (straight / right) in the eye
- hit it
- hit it off (with sb)
- hit the jackpot
- hit the nail on the head
- hit the road / trail
- hit the roof
- hit the spot
- hit the streets | hit the shops / stores
- hit sb when they're down
- hit sb where it hurts
—more at headline , home adverb , know verb , mark noun , nerve noun , note noun , pay dirt , shit noun , six , stride noun
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- hit back (at sb/sth)
- hit on sb
- hit on / upon sth
- hit out (at sb/sth)
- hit sb up for sth | hit sb for sth
- hit sb with sth
■ noun
ACT OF HITTING
1.
an act of hitting sb/sth with your hand or with an object held in your hand :
Give it a good hit.
He made the winning hit.
2.
an occasion when sth that has been thrown, fired, etc. at an object reaches that object :
The bomber scored a direct hit on the bridge.
We finished the first round with a score of two hits and six misses.
STH POPULAR
3.
a person or thing that is very popular :
The duo were a real hit in last year's show.
a hit musical
Her new series is a smash hit .
POP MUSIC
4.
a successful pop song or record :
They are about to release an album of their greatest hits.
She played all her old hits.
a hit record / single
OF DRUG
5.
( slang ) an amount of an illegal drug that is taken at one time
MURDER
6.
( slang , especially NAmE ) a violent crime or murder
—see also hit man
COMPUTING
7.
a result of a search on a computer, for example on the Internet
•
IDIOMS
- be / make a hit (with sb)
- take a hit
••
SYNONYMS
hit
knock ♦ bang ♦ strike ♦ bump ♦ bash
All these words mean to come against sth with a lot of force.
hit
to come against sth with force, especially causing damage or injury:
The boy was hit by a speeding car.
knock
to hit sth so that it moves or breaks; to put sb/sth into a particular state or position by hitting them / it:
Someone had knocked a hole in the wall.
bang
to hit sth in a way that makes a loud noise:
The baby was banging the table with his spoon.
strike
( formal ) to hit sb/sth hard:
The ship struck a rock.
bump
to hit sb/sth accidentally:
In the darkness I bumped into a chair.
bash
( informal ) to hit against sth very hard:
I braked too late, bashing into the car in front.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to hit / knock / bang / bump / bash against sb/sth
to knock / bang / bump / bash into sb/sth
to be hit / struck by a car / truck / bus
to hit / strike the ground / floor / wall
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Old English hittan (in the sense come upon, find ), from Old Norse hitta come upon, meet with, of unknown origin.