/hɪt͡ʃ/
OriginProbably from Middle English hicchen, hytchen, icchen (“to move; to move as with a jerk”), of obscure origin. Lacks cognates in other languages. Compare itch, hike.
- A sudden pull.
- Any of various knots used to attach a rope to an object other than another rope.
- A fastener or connection point, as for a trailer.
“His truck sported a heavy-duty hitch for his boat.”
- informalA problem, delay or source of difficulty.
“The banquet went off without a hitch” — The banquet went smoothly.
“The service operated according to plan on the Monday morning with only a few hitches.”
“Over the next week, the hitch in my dad's stride eased a bit. But we'd run out of things to talk about.”
- A hidden or unfavorable condition or element.
“The deal sounds too good to be true. What's the hitch?”
- slangA period of time spent in the military.
“She served two hitches in Vietnam.”
“U.S. TROOPS FACE LONGER ARMY HITCH; SOLDIERS BOUND FOR IRAQ, ... WILL BE RETAINED”
- A large Californian minnow, Lavinia exilicauda.
- A hole cut into the wall of a mine on which timbers are rested.
“An upcast fault is when the seam is thrown up; to counteract this a "canch" of top stone must be taken down outbye over from the fault, and a "canch" of bottom stone taken up inbye over from the fault”
“A coal cutter and conveyor is used along the face, and after each cut the hitch had to be crossed at a new point.”
- transitiveTo pull with a jerk.
“She hitched her jeans up and then tightened her belt.”
- transitiveTo attach, tie or fasten.
“He hitched the bedroll to his backpack and went camping.”
“Philander went into the next room, which was just a lean-to hitched on to the end of the shanty, and came back with a salt mackerel that dripped brine like a rainstorm. Then he put the coffee pot on t”
“The company has hitched its future to artificial intelligence — whether with its voice-enabled digital assistant or its automated placement of advertising for marketers — as the breakthrough technolog”
- informalTo marry oneself to; especially to get hitched.
- abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, informal, transitiveClipping of hitchhike, to thumb a ride.
- intransitiveTo become entangled or caught; to be linked or yoked; to unite; to cling.
“atoms[…]which at length hitched together”
- intransitiveTo move interruptedly or with halts, jerks, or steps; said of something obstructed or impeded.
“Frank’s breath hitched in his throat when he saw the knife being pointed at him.”
“To ease themselves […] by hitching into another place.”
- UK, intransitiveTo strike the legs together in going, as horses; to interfere.
“Stolen[…]A brown Gelding[…]all his paces, and hitches a little in his pace.”
- A surname transferred from the given name.
- informalAlfred Hitchcock
Formshitches(plural) · hitches(present, singular, third-person) · hitching(participle, present) · hitched(participle, past) · hitched(past)