1
: a small door or opening (as in an airplane or spaceship)
an escape hatch
2
a
: an opening in the deck of a ship or in the floor or roof of a building
b
: the covering for such an opening
c
: hatchway
d
3
hatched; hatching; hatches
1
: to produce young by incubation
2
a
: to emerge from an egg, chrysalis, or pupa
b
: to give forth young or imagoes
3
: to incubate eggs : brood
1
a
: to produce (young) from an egg by applying natural or artificial heat
2
: to bring into being : originate
especially
: to concoct in secret
hatch a plot
hatched; hatching; hatches
1
: to inlay with narrow bands of distinguishable material
a silver handle hatched with gold
2
: to mark (something, such as a drawing or engraving) with fine closely spaced lines
plural hatches
: a mark, line, or stroke (as in a drawing or engraving) made usually by a single movement of a pen, pencil, etc.
especially
: one made in parallel with others to give the effect of shading
Dots, hatches, crosshatches, flowing lines, scribbles—use them all! —
Courtney Jordan
Courtney Jordan I continue to refine and tighten the drawing as I develop the form and color with overlapping hatches. —Jill Bossert
Jill Bossert Scientists have been unable to determine whether the hatches of the lower part of the drawing were done by a right- or left-handed person. —Elian Peltier
Elian Peltier [Adobe] Illustrator's new filters include Ink Pen, for creating organic-looking hatches … —Mike Heck and Karen Mitchell
Mike Heck and Karen Mitchell Synonyms
Examples of hatch in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebAlida Nugent, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
The on-screen virtual button for the rear hatch resides alongside the frunk button within an on-screen menu.
—Dan Carney, Popular Science, 1 Feb. 2024
There's a disc on Ballie's head that can pop up, and the little hatch is surrounded by a light ring.
—Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 9 Jan. 2024
The buoy is naturally bright orange, but it is mounted behind a hatch on the starboard side that elegantly blends into the tan hull.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2024
Sadly, a manual transmission option, as on the current Forte GT, wasn’t mentioned, but a five-door version was, which will please hot hatch fans.
—Alex Kwanten, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Green chili queso smash burger, made with a third-pound smash burger patty, hatch chile, pepper jack cheese, caramelized onion and chipotle aioli on a local pretzel bun.
—Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 23 Mar. 2024
The larvae hatch and feed inside, hollowing out the twig, which then dies.
—Steve Bender, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2024
The dry-fly fishing is especially great—owing to the caddis and mayfly hatches—and runs from April all the way through November.
—Tim Romano, Field & Stream, 20 Mar. 2024
USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Bald eagles Jackie and Shadow’s three eggs should have hatched over a month ago in their Southern California nest.
—Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 12 Apr. 2024
The pair fall madly in love before hatching a plan to break out of the joint.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
This April, the biggest show in town just might be two ferocious birds hatching eggs on a big screen in Berkeley.
—John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
The idea was hatched three years ago, when Lucky Duck Foundation board member Jason Levin imagined a youth contingent connected to their cause.
—Steven P. Dinkin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024
In early 2021, a plan was hatched to create a conservative media giant centered on Trump after Twitter banned him in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
—Joe Rennison, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Lanternfly eggs will hatch in the next couple months as spring arrives.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 25 Mar. 2024
While Clark’s siblings were released into the wild, Clark hatched in 2003 with a deformity that probably would have led to his quick demise in nature.
—Sydney Page, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
Noun
The truck features a giant burger on top that can be removed to put Lego minifigures inside, a burger sign, and a service hatch that can open and close when business is ready to begin.
—Alida Nugent, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
The on-screen virtual button for the rear hatch resides alongside the frunk button within an on-screen menu.
—Dan Carney, Popular Science, 1 Feb. 2024
There's a disc on Ballie's head that can pop up, and the little hatch is surrounded by a light ring.
—Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 9 Jan. 2024
The buoy is naturally bright orange, but it is mounted behind a hatch on the starboard side that elegantly blends into the tan hull.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2024
Sadly, a manual transmission option, as on the current Forte GT, wasn’t mentioned, but a five-door version was, which will please hot hatch fans.
—Alex Kwanten, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Green chili queso smash burger, made with a third-pound smash burger patty, hatch chile, pepper jack cheese, caramelized onion and chipotle aioli on a local pretzel bun.
—Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 23 Mar. 2024
The larvae hatch and feed inside, hollowing out the twig, which then dies.
—Steve Bender, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2024
The dry-fly fishing is especially great—owing to the caddis and mayfly hatches—and runs from April all the way through November.
—Tim Romano, Field & Stream, 20 Mar. 2024
Verb
In a tragic turn of events, two baby bald eaglets that hatched this week at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, were killed by their bald eagle father, who ate them.
—USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Bald eagles Jackie and Shadow’s three eggs should have hatched over a month ago in their Southern California nest.
—Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 12 Apr. 2024
The pair fall madly in love before hatching a plan to break out of the joint.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
This April, the biggest show in town just might be two ferocious birds hatching eggs on a big screen in Berkeley.
—John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
The idea was hatched three years ago, when Lucky Duck Foundation board member Jason Levin imagined a youth contingent connected to their cause.
—Steven P. Dinkin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024
In early 2021, a plan was hatched to create a conservative media giant centered on Trump after Twitter banned him in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
—Joe Rennison, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Lanternfly eggs will hatch in the next couple months as spring arrives.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 25 Mar. 2024
While Clark’s siblings were released into the wild, Clark hatched in 2003 with a deformity that probably would have led to his quick demise in nature.
—Sydney Page, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hatch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hatch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hatch. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hatch
1 of 4 noun1
: an opening in a deck, floor, or roof
2
: a small door or opening (as in an airplane)
3
: the covering for a hatch
hatch
2 of 4 verb1
a
: to produce from eggs
the hen hatched chicks
b
: incubate sense 1
the hen hatched the eggs
2
a
: to emerge from an egg, pupa, or chrysalis
the chicks hatched today
b
: to give forth young
the eggs hatched today
3
: to bring into being : originate
especially
: to organize or put together in secret
hatch a plot
hatch
3 of 4 noun1
: an act or instance of hatching
2
: a brood of hatched young
hatch
4 of 4 verb
: to mark (as the shading in a picture) with hatching
Etymology
Noun
Old English hæc "small door or opening"
Verb
Middle English hacchen "to cause to be born out of an egg"
Verb
Middle English hachen "to mark with a pattern of fine lines," from early French hacher "to inlay, chop up," derived from earlier hache "battle-ax"; of Germanic origin — related to hash entry 1, hatchet
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