hitch 1
— hitcher , n.
/hich/ , v.t.
1. to fasten or tie, esp. temporarily, by means of a hook, rope, strap, etc.; tether: Steve hitched the horse to one of the posts.
2. to harness (an animal) to a vehicle (often fol. by up ).
3. to raise with jerks (usually fol. by up ); hike up: to hitch up one's trousers.
4. to move or draw (something) with a jerk.
5. Slang. to bind by marriage vows; unite in marriage; marry: They got hitched in '79.
6. to catch, as on a projection; snag: He hitched his jeans on a nail and tore them.
v.i.
7. to stick, as when caught.
8. to fasten oneself or itself to something (often fol. by on ).
9. to move roughly or jerkily: The old buggy hitched along.
10. to hobble or limp.
11. hitch up , to harness an animal to a wagon, carriage, or the like.
n.
12. the act or fact of fastening, as to something, esp. temporarily.
13. any of various knots or loops made to attach a rope to something in such a way as to be readily loosened. Cf. bend 1 (def. 18).
14. Mil. Slang. a period of military service: a three-year hitch in the Navy.
15. an unexpected difficulty, obstacle, delay, etc.: a hitch in our plans for the picnic.
16. a hitching movement; jerk or pull.
17. a hitching gait; a hobble or limp.
18. a fastening that joins a movable tool to the mechanism that pulls it.
19. Mining.
a. a fault having a throw less than the thickness of a coal seam being mined.
b. a notch cut in a wall or the like to hold the end of a stull or other timber.
[ 1400-50; 1840-50 for def. 5; late ME hytchen, of obscure orig. ]
Syn. 1. attach, connect, hook. 2. yoke. 15. hindrance, catch, impediment.
Ant. 1. loose, loosen.
hitch 2
/hich/ , n.
a minnow, Lavinia exilicauda, inhabiting streams in the area of San Francisco and the Sacramento River basin.
[ orig. uncert. ]
hitch 3
— hitcher , n.
/hich/ , v.i., v.t., n. Informal.
hitchhike.
[ 1865-70; by shortening ]