Did You Know?

There's a glitch in the etymology of glitch - the origins of the word are not known for sure, though it may derive from the Yiddish glitsh, meaning "slippery place." The first documented use of glitch in print in English is found in astronaut John Glenn's 1962 book Into Orbit. In it he wrote, "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, you don't have to be an astronaut to be familiar with the word glitch, which can be used of any minor malfunction or snag.

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 The most recent, #100, concerns a glitch in a French welfare system that can incorrectly determine people owe the state money. — Tom Simonite, Wired, 3 June 2021 The Salesmanship Club’s 600-plus members were supported by 1,200 volunteers from 16 states who contributed 26,921 hours of duty to make sure things came off as glitch-free as possible. — Cheryl Hall, Dallas News, 30 May 2021 First, conservative media or political figures notice what seems to them a glitch in the consensus—a situation in which liberals might be using the slogans of science and objectivity as a cover for a partisan political endeavor. — Benjamin Wallace-wells, The New Yorker, 27 May 2021 The show made international headlines in 2012 when a computer glitch resulted in the Big Bay bust as 7,000 fireworks launched in a 30-second period. — Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2021 According to a Congressional Budget Office estimate from last year, a family glitch fix would cost $45 billion over a decade. — Brian Blase, Forbes, 13 May 2021 The good news here is that, at least as far as NASA is concerned, this odd glitch doesn’t change anything about the plans to continue sending Ingenuity on new and more daring flights. — Mike Wehner, BGR, 30 Apr. 2021 Brown does not appear in the video, which has a glitch when the shooting begins. — Washington Post, 28 Apr. 2021 Barnett is a no-nonsense sort; a brief glitch at takeoff shows us her coolness under pressure. — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'glitch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.