glitch

noun

ˈglich 

1

a

: a usually minor malfunction

a glitch in a spacecraft's fuel cell

also : bug entry 1 sense 2

b

: a minor problem that causes a temporary setback : snag

2

: a false or spurious electronic signal

glitchy

ˈgli-chē

adjective

Did you know?

There's a glitch in the etymology of glitch—it may come from the Yiddish glitsh, meaning "slippery place," but that's not certain. Print use of glitch referring to a brief unexpected surge of electrical current dates to the mid-20th century. Astronaut John Glenn, in his 1962 book Into Orbit, felt the need to explain the term to his readers: "Literally, a glitch is a spike or change in voltage in an electrical circuit which takes place when the circuit suddenly has a new load put on it." Today, the word can be used of any minor malfunction or snag. If you’re a gamer you might even take advantage of a glitch that causes something unexpected, and sometimes beneficial, to happen in the game.

Examples of glitch in a Sentence

Glitches in the speaker's schedule caused some delays.

A technical glitch caused a temporary shutdown.

Recent Examples on the Web

Starliner miscalculated its location in space due to a glitch caused by a faulty mission elapsed timer. —Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 2 May 2024

And even if Usinger, who could very well be the victim of a computer glitch, couldn’t fill out the form until Sunday morning, there was time to send an email to NCS. —Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 2 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from Yiddish glitsh slippery place, from glitshn (zikh) to slide, glide; akin to Old High German glītan to glide — more at glide

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

glitch

noun

ˈglich 

: an unexpected usually minor problem

glitches in a new computer program