hitch

plural hitches

1. A sudden pull.
2. Any of various knots used to attach a rope to an object other than another rope.
3. A fastener or connection point, as for a trailer.

   His truck sported a heavy-duty hitch for his boat.

4. informalA problem, delay or source of difficulty.

   The banquet went off without a hitch

   The banquet went smoothly.

   2 more examples

   The service operated according to plan on the Monday morning with only a few hitches.

   1961 July, “Glasgow emergency - the restoration of Clydeside steam suburban services”, in Trains Illustrated, page 432

   Over the next week, the hitch in my dad's stride eased a bit. But we'd run out of things to talk about.

   2008 October, Davy Rothbart, “How I caught up with dad”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 8, →ISSN, page 110

5. A hidden or unfavorable condition or element.

   The deal sounds too good to be true. What's the hitch?

   Synonyms: catch

6. slanggovernmentA period of time spent in the military.

   She served two hitches in Vietnam.

   1 more example

   U.S. TROOPS FACE LONGER ARMY HITCH; SOLDIERS BOUND FOR IRAQ, ... WILL BE RETAINED

   2004, June 3, Stephen J. Hedges & Mike Dorning, Chicago Tribune; Orlando Sentinel; page pg. A.1

7. A large Californian minnow, Lavinia exilicauda.
8. businessA hole cut into the wall of a mine on which timbers are rested.

   A coal cutter and conveyor is used along the face, and after each cut the hitch had to be crossed at a new point.

   1897, Great Britain. Mines Department, Mines and Quarries. Reports ... for the Newcastle District (No. 3) (page 32)

   1 more example

   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, then level up to the bottom of your "canch" at the foreside of the hitch outbye over until you have a regular gradient to the seam on the hitch.

   1879, William Bailes, Student's Guide to the Principles of Coal & Metal Mining, page 17

present singular third person hitches · participle present hitching · participle past hitched · past hitched

1. transitiveTo pull with a jerk.

   She hitched her jeans up and then tightened her belt.

2. transitiveTo attach, tie or fasten.

   He hitched the bedroll to his backpack and went camping.

   2 more examples

   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 the stove and rummaged out a loaf of dry bread and some hardtack.

   1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

   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 technology to make the next generation of services and devices smarter and more capable.

   2020 December 3, Cade Metz, Daisuke Wakabayashi, “Google Researcher Says She Was Fired Over Paper Highlighting Bias in A.I.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   Synonyms: affix, join, put together, accouple, affix, assemble, associate, attach

3. informalTo marry oneself to; especially to get hitched.

   Synonyms: splice, wed, bewed, conjoin, couple, espouse, handfast, join

4. abbreviationclippinginformaltransitiveClipping of hitchhike, to thumb a ride.

   to hitch a ride

   1 more example

   A dog losing the trail on foot in the wilderness is one thing, but a trail that suddenly stops in a place where vehicles regularly idle, and strangers pass through, suggests Bryce may have hitched a ride.

   2026 July 18, Nicholas Muhoro, “Bryce Laspisa Vanished Near Castaic Lake After Spending 13 Hours Parked on a California Highway”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 19 Jul 2026

5. intransitiveTo become entangled or caught; to be linked or yoked; to unite; to cling.

   atoms[…]which at length hitched together

   1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London

6. 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.

   1 more example

   To ease themselves […] by hitching into another place.

   1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI)

7. UKintransitiveTo strike the legs together in going, as horses; to interfere.

   Stolen[…]A brown Gelding[…]all his paces, and hitches a little in his pace.

   1686, London Gazette

1. A surname transferred from the given name.

1. informalAlfred Hitchcock