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
Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 26 Jan. 2026
Forbes said absences may reflect stock fluctuations or archival glitches.
—Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026
The latest outage follows a string of technical glitches that have disrupted the platform in recent months.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
Today, situations that involve waiting are viewed as glitches rather than inevitable parts of life, says Sarah Schnitker, a psychologist at Baylor University.
—Matt Fuchs, Time, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for glitch
Cite this Entry
“Glitch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glitch. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
glitch
noun
