hitch1

[hich] /hɪtʃ/
verb (used with object)
1.
to fasten or tie, especially 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 followed by up).
3.
to raise with jerks (usually followed 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.
verb (used without object)
7.
to stick, as when caught.
8.
to fasten oneself or itself to something (often followed by on).
9.
to move roughly or jerkily:
The old buggy hitched along.
10.
to hobble or limp.
noun
11.
the act or fact of fastening, as to something, especially temporarily.
12.
any of various knots or loops made to attach a rope to something in such a way as to be readily loosened.
Compare bend1 (def 17).
13.
Military Slang. a period of military service:
a three-year hitch in the Navy.
14.
an unexpected difficulty, obstacle, delay, etc.:
a hitch in our plans for the picnic.
15.
a hitching movement; jerk or pull.
16.
a hitching gait; a hobble or limp.
17.
a fastening that joins a movable tool to the mechanism that pulls it.
18.
Mining.
  1. a fault having a throw less than the thickness of a coal seam being mined.
  2. a notch cut in a wall or the like to hold the end of a stull or other timber.
Verb phrases
19.
hitch up, to harness an animal to a wagon, carriage, or the like.
Origin
1400-50; 1840-50 for def 5; late Middle English hytchen, of obscure origin
Related forms
hitcher, noun
Synonyms
1. attach, connect, hook. 2. yoke. 14. hindrance, catch, impediment.
Antonyms
1. loose, loosen.

hitch2

[hich] /hɪtʃ/
noun
1.
a minnow, Lavinia exilicauda, inhabiting streams in the area of San Francisco and the Sacramento River basin.
Origin
origin uncertain

hitch3

[hich] /hɪtʃ/
verb (used without object), verb (used with object), noun, Informal.
1.
hitchhike.
Origin
1865-70; by shortening
Related forms
hitcher, noun
Examples from the web for hitch
  • The only potential, unspeakable, hitch was the ghost.
  • The hitch is that you must use the money or lose it.
  • Their tiny embryos can hitch rides on the swift currents of ocean eddies.
  • The record-breaking flight appeared to go off without a hitch.
  • Or one could rent a generator mounted on a trailer hitch.
  • Here's our guide to making sure your prank goes off without a hitch.
  • The small marine animals that hitch rides across the ocean are typically non-mobile.
  • He navigated to a flash-heavy website, which ran without a hitch.
  • hitch a ride with an airborne biologist who uses a powered paraglider to study plant diversity from above.
  • We hitch a ride in the back of a small pickup driven by a local fisherman, sharing the space with his kids.
British Dictionary definitions for hitch

hitch

/hɪtʃ/
verb
1.
to fasten or become fastened with a knot or tie, esp temporarily
2.
(often foll by up) to connect (a horse, team, etc); harness
3.
(transitive) often foll by up. to pull up (the trousers, a skirt, etc) with a quick jerk
4.
(intransitive) (mainly US) to move in a halting manner: to hitch along
5.
to entangle or become entangled: the thread was hitched on the reel
6.
(transitive; passive) (slang) to marry (esp in the phrase get hitched)
7.
(informal) to obtain (a ride or rides) by hitchhiking
noun
8.
an impediment or obstacle, esp one that is temporary or minor: a hitch in the proceedings
9.
a knot for fastening a rope to posts, other ropes, etc, that can be undone by pulling against the direction of the strain that holds it
10.
a sudden jerk; tug; pull: he gave it a hitch and it came loose
11.
(mainly US) a hobbling gait: to walk with a hitch
12.
a device used for fastening
13.
(informal) a ride obtained by hitchhiking
14.
(US & Canadian, slang) a period of time spent in prison, in the army, etc
Derived Forms
hitcher, noun
Word Origin
C15: of uncertain origin
Word Origin and History for hitch
v.

mid-15c., probably from Middle English icchen "to move as with a jerk, to stir" (c.1200). It lacks cognates in other languages. The connection with icchen may be in notion of "hitching up" pants or boots with a jerking motion. Sense of "become fastened," especially by a hook, first recorded 1570s, originally nautical. Meaning "to marry" is from 1844 (to hitch horses together "get along well," especially of married couples, is from 1837, American English). Short for hitchhike (v.) by 1931. Related: Hitched; hitching.

n.

1660s, "a limp or hobble;" 1670s, "an abrupt movement," from hitch (v.). Meaning "a means by which a rope is made fast" is from 1769, nautical. The sense of "obstruction" is first recorded 1748; military sense of "enlistment" is from 1835.

Slang definitions & phrases for hitch

hitch

noun
  1. A problem or difficulty; delaying defect; catch, glitch: Everything went off without a hitch (1748+)
  2. A period of enlistment: 42 percent have ''reupped'' for another hitch (1835+ Armed forces)
  3. A ride, esp one gotten by hitchhiking; lift (1923+)
verb
  1. hitchhike (1940s+)
  2. To marry; be married (1844+)