hɪt v. & n. --v. (hitting;
past and past
part. hit) 1 tr. a
strike with a blow or a
missile. b (of a
moving body) strike (the plane hit
the ground). c
reach (a
target, a
person, etc.) with a directed missile (hit the
window with the ball). 2 tr.
cause to
suffer or affect adversely; wound (the
loss hit
him hard). 3 intr. (often foll. by
at,
against, upon)
direct a blow. 4 tr. (often foll. by against, on)
knock (a part of the body) (hit
his head on the door-frame). 5 tr.
light upon;
get at (a
thing aimed at) (he's hit the
truth at last;
tried to hit the
right tone in his apology) (see hit on). 6 tr. colloq. a
encounter (hit a snag). b
arrive at (hit an all-time low; hit the town). c
indulge in,
esp.
liquor etc. (hit the bottle). 7 tr. esp. US sl.
rob or
kill. 8 tr.
occur forcefully to (the seriousness of the
situation only hit him later). 9 tr.
Sport a
propel (a ball etc.) with a bat etc. to
score runs or points. b score (runs etc.) in
this way. c (usu. foll. by for) strike (a ball or a bowler)
for so
many runs (hit him for six). 10 tr.
represent exactly. --n. 1 a a blow; a
stroke. b a
collision. 2 a shot etc.
that hits
its target. 3 colloq. a
popular success in
entertainment. 4 a stroke of
sarcasm, wit, etc. 5 a stroke of
good luck. 6 esp. US sl. a a
murder or
other violent crime. b a
drug injection etc. 7 a
successful attempt. øhit and
run cause (accidental or wilful)
damage and
escape or leave the
scene before being discovered. hit-and-run attrib.adj. relating to or (of a person) committing an
act of this kind. hit
back retaliate. hit
below the
belt 1 esp.
Boxing give a
foul blow. 2
treat or
behave unfairly. hit for
six Brit.
defeat in
argument. hit the hay (or sack) colloq. go to
bed. hit the headlines see
HEADLINE. hit
home make a
salutary impression. hit it
off (often foll. by with, together)
agree or be
congenial. hit list sl. a list of
prospective victims. hit
man (pl. hit men) sl. a hired
assassin. hit the
nail on the head
state the truth exactly. hit on (or upon)
find (what is sought), esp. by
chance. hit-or-miss aimed or
done carelessly. hit
out deal
vigorous physical or
verbal blows (hit out at
her enemies). hit-out n.
Austral. sl. a
brisk gallop. hit
parade colloq. a list of the
current best-selling records of popular
music. hit the road (US trail) sl.
depart. hit the
roof see ROOF. hit up Cricket score (runs) energetically. hit
wicket Cricket be out by
striking the wicket with the bat etc. make a hit (usu. foll. by with) be successful or popular. øøhitter n. [ME f. OE hittan f. ON hitta meet with, of unkn. orig.]
