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
Emil Sayegh, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
Officials say a glitch was to blame in this case, but also point out that utilizing social media to distribute mass alerts is the best way to ensure the information gets out without crashing their websites.
—Maddie Carr, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2025
Because of a weird glitch between the brain and the body, nearly one-third of people will experience sleep paralysis — making some see demons and witches.
—Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 9 June 2025
That game became better known for its bugs and glitches than anything happening in the world itself.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for glitch
Cite this Entry
“Glitch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glitch. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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glitch
noun
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