hit

present singular third person hits · participle present hitting · dialectal obsolete past hat · dialectal past rare het · dialectal obsolete participle past hat · dialectal participle past rare het · archaic dialectal participle past rare hitten

1. To strike.
   1. physicaltransitiveheadingTo administer a blow to, directly or with a weapon or missile.

      One boy hit the other.

      4 more examples

      Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

      1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC

      He tried to hit me but I dodged the blow and went out to plot revenge.

      1922-1927, Frank Harris, My Life and Loves

      Bello: (Shouts) Good, by the rumping jumping general! That's the best bit of news I heard these six weeks. Here, don't keep me waiting, damn you! (He slaps her face) Bello: (Whimpers) You're after hitting me. I'll tell[…]

      1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[[Episode 15]]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC

      I hunted him for half a hour, aiming to learn him to hit a man with a table-leg and then run, but I didn't find him.

      1934, Robert E. Howard, The Slugger's Game

      Synonyms: beat

   2. physicaltransitiveheadingTo come into contact with forcefully and suddenly.

      The ball hit the fence.

      2 more examples

      a dozen apples, each of them near as large as a Bristol barrel, came tumbling about my ears; one of them hit me on the back as I chanced to stoop, and knocked me down flat on my face.

      1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part II (A Voyage to Brobdingnag)

      Meanwhile the street boys kept up a shower of mud balls, many of which hit the Doctor, while the rest were distributed upon his assailants.

      1882, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Doctor Grimshawe's Secret: A romance

   3. intransitivephysicalheadingTo strike against something.

      I can't get anything to hit at that distance.

   4. physicaltransitiveheadingTo activate a button or key by pressing and releasing it.

      Hit the Enter key to continue.

   5. physicalslangtransitiveheadingTo kill a person, usually on the instructions of a third party.

      Hit him tonight and throw the body in the river.

      1 more example

      FREDO: Mikey, why would they ever hit poor old Frankie Five-Angels? I loved that ole sonuvabitch.

      1973, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather Part II (screenplay, second draft)

      Synonyms: bump off

   6. physicaltransitivegovernmentTo attack, especially amphibiously.

      If intelligence had been what it should have been, I don't think we'd ever have hit that island.

   7. ambitransitivefigurativelyphysicalheadingTo affect someone, as if dealing a blow to that person.

      Their coffee really hits the spot.

      1 more example

      I used to listen to that song all the time, but it hits different(ly) now.

2. transitiveTo manage to touch (a target) in the right place.

   I hit the jackpot.

   1 more example

   You can't hit the high notes in that song!

   Antonyms: miss

3. colloquialtransitiveTo switch on or switch off (lights).

   Somebody's been here! Hit the lights!

4. informaltransitiveentertainmentTo commence playing.

   - I'd love to hear your band play. - Hit it, boys!

5. colloquialtransitiveTo briefly visit.

   We hit the grocery store on the way to the park.

6. informaltransitiveTo encounter an obstacle or other difficulty.

   We hit a lot of traffic coming back from the movies.

   1 more example

   You'll hit some nasty thunderstorms if you descend too late.

7. To attain, to achieve.
   1. informaltransitiveheadingTo reach or achieve.

      The movie hits theaters in December.

      4 more examples

      The temperature could hit 110°F tomorrow.

      We hit Detroit at one in the morning but kept driving through the night.

      As soon as we hit Jazzafrazz Town, we were overcome by the glitz and the glamour.

      2004, Intelligent Systems, translated by Nintendo of America, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo, GameCube, level/area: Rogueport

      And her success with Glover, a product of the National Lottery-funded Sporting Giants talent identification programme, will also spark relief among British officials who were starting to fret a little about hitting their target of equalling fourth in the medal table from Beijing.

      2012 August 1, Owen Gibson, “London 2012: rowers Glover and Stanning win Team GB's first gold medal”, in Guardian Unlimited

   2. intransitiveheadingTo meet or reach what was aimed at or desired; to succeed, often by luck.

      And oft it hits / Where hope is coldest and despair most fits.

      c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]

      1 more example

      All Human Race wou’d fain be Wits, / And Millions miſs, for one that hits.

      1733, [Jonathan Swift], On Poetry: A Rapsody, Dublin; London: […] [R. Fleming] [a]nd sold by J. Huggonson, […], →OCLC, page 3, lines 1–2

   3. headingTo guess; to light upon or discover.

      Thou hast hit it.

      c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]

      1 more example

      And we shall sit at endless feast, ⁠Enjoying each the other’s good; ⁠What vaster dream can hit the mood Of Love on earth?

      1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XLVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 69

8. transitiveTo affect negatively.

   The economy was hit by a recession.  The hurricane hit his fishing business hard.

9. figurativelyTo attack.

   I have to say this, he hit my hands. Nobody has ever hit my hands. I’ve never heard of this one. Look at those hands. Are they small hands?

   2016 March 3, Nick Gass, quoting Donald Trump, “Trump on small hands: 'I guarantee you there's no problem'”, in Politico

   Synonyms: beset

10. To make a play.
    1. transitivecard gamesIn blackjack, to deal a card to.

       Hit me.

    2. intransitiveball gamesTo come up to bat.

       Jones hit for the pitcher.

    3. backgammonTo take up, or replace by a piece belonging to the opposing player; said of a single unprotected piece on a point.
11. transitivecomputingTo use; to connect to.

    The external web servers hit DBSRV7, but the internal web server hits DBSRV3.

12. USslangtransitiveTo have sex with.

    I'd hit that!

    Synonyms: bang

13. USslangtransitiveTo inhale an amount of smoke from a narcotic substance, particularly marijuana.

    Tastes like fruit when you hit it; got to have bread to get it.

    2005, “Stay Fly”, in Jordan Houston, Darnell Carlton, Paul Beauregard, Premro Smith, Marlon Goodwin, David Brown, Willie Hutchinson (lyrics), Most Known Unknown, performed by Three 6 Mafia (featuring Young Buck, 8 Ball, and MJG), Sony BMG

    1 more example

    I'm hitting my DMT cart right now. Hold up, hold on nigga. I'm hittin' it not enough to break through though. Oh my God! Oh my God nigga uhhh. I'm- ohhh my God, dude! Ohhh, ahhh! Oh my God! Holy fuck! Oh my God! Oohhh. Oohhh! God! Oh my God! Ahhh! Fuck, I'm breaking through bro. Ohh!

    2020, DubbyD, im hitting my dmt cart right now, spoken by CSGO player Loc T Nguyen

    Synonyms: smoke up, toke

14. transitivebodybuilding(of an exercise) to affect, to work a body part.

    This is another great exercise which hits the long head.

15. transitivebodybuildingTo work out.

    With that said, the group hitting their legs just once a week still made gains.

    Synonyms: hit the gym

plural hits

1. A blow; a punch; a striking against; the collision of one body against another; the stroke that touches anything.

   The hit was very slight.

   1 more example

   So he the fam'd Cilician fencer prais'd, / And, at each hit, with wonder seem'd amaz'd.

   1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Fourth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC

2. Something very successful, such as a song, film, or video game, that receives widespread recognition and acclaim.

   Marie Taglioni was another hit for Her Majesty's Theatre last season, and will be a hit again this season[…]

   1848, “Her Majesty's Theatre”, in The Musical World, volume 23

   1 more example

   Chico & Rita opens in the modern era, as an aged, weary Chico shines shoes in his native Cuba. Then a song heard on the radio—a hit he wrote and recorded with Rita in their youth—carries him back to 1948 Havana, where they first met.

   2012 February 9, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Review: Chico & Rita”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 04 Jun 2012

3. figurativelyA blow; a calamitous or damaging occurrence.

   His reputation took a hit when the new information came to light.

4. An attack on a location, person or people.
5. A collision of a projectile with the target.

   1 more example

   But signalman Bridges was never to answer driver Gimbert's desperate question. A deafening, massive blast blew the wagon to shreds, the 44 high-explosive bombs exploding like simultaneous hits from the aircraft they should have been dropped from. The station was instantly reduced to bits of debris, and the line to a huge crater.

   2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 43

   1. In the game of Battleship, a correct guess at where one's opponent ship is.
6. InternetcomputingA match found by searching a computer system or search engine
7. InternetA measured visit to a web site, a request for a single file from a web server.

   My site received twice as many hits after being listed in a search engine.

8. An approximately correct answer in a test set.
9. ball gamesThe complete play, when the batter reaches base without the benefit of a walk, error, or fielder’s choice.

   The catcher got a hit to lead off the fifth.

10. colloquialA dose of an illegal or addictive drug.

    Where am I going to get my next hit?

11. A premeditated murder done for criminal or political purposes.

    The questions that have always haunted the family — who ordered the hit, and why, and who in London might have known — remain unanswered.

    2023 August 30, Megan K. Stack, Rob Stothard, “He Was Shot 14 Times at the Dinner Table. His Children Want to Know if Britain Ordered the Hit.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

12. datedA peculiarly apt expression or turn of thought; a phrase which hits the mark.

    a happy hit

    1 more example

    What late he called a blessing, now was wit, / And God's good providence, a lucky hit.

    1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC

13. backgammonA move that throws one of the opponent's men back to the entering point.
14. backgammonA game won after the adversary has removed some of his men. It counts for less than a gammon.

1. not comparableVery successful.

   The band played their hit song to the delight of the fans.

emphatic reflexive hitself · adjective noun possessive hits

1. dialectalIt.

   But how hit was to come about didn't appear.

   1922, Philip Gengembre Hubert, The Atlantic monthly, volume 130

   1 more example

   Now, George, grease it good, an' let hit slide down the hill hits own way.

   1998, Nancy A. Walker, What's so funny?: humor in American culture

plural HITs

1. abbreviationacronymAcronym of high-intensity interval training.

   Synonyms: HIIT · Antonyms: LISS

2. abbreviationacronymAcronym of high-intensity training.
3. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of health information technology.
4. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of hyperspectral imaging technique.
5. abbreviationacronymAcronym of human intelligence task
6. abbreviationAbbreviation of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.
7. abbreviationAbbreviation of herd immunity threshold.

alternative Heet

1. A city in Iraq.