hit

\ ˈhit

How to pronounce hit (audio)

\

hit; hitting

Definition of hit

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to reach with or as if with a sudden blow His mom told him to stop hitting his sister.

b : to come in quick forceful contact with the ball hit the window He was hit by a car. The tank was hit by enemy fire.

c : to strike (something, such as a ball) with an object (such as a bat, club, or racket) so as to impart or redirect motion hit a fastball into the outfield

2a : to cause to come into contact She accidentally hit her head getting into the car.

b : to deliver (something, such as a blow) by action

c : to apply forcefully or suddenly hit the brakes Will someone hit the lights?

3 : to affect especially detrimentally farmers hit by drought Many families were hit hard during the recession.

4 : to make a request of hit his friend for 10 dollars —often used with uphit us up for some change

5 : to discover or meet especially by chance prospectors hitting gold hit a snowstorm while driving home hit a run of bad luck

6a : to accord with : suit hits public tastes

b : reach, attain prices hit a new high kept digging until he hit water She'll hit 50 on her next birthday.

c : to arrive or appear at, in, or on hit town the best time to hit the stores The newest issue hits newsstands tomorrow.

d of fish : to bite at or on will only hit live bait

e : to reflect accurately hit the right note

f : to reach or strike (something, such as a target) especially for a score in a game or contest couldn't seem to hit the basket

g baseball : bat sense 2b a player who can hit .300

7 : to indulge in excessively He repeatedly hit the bottle [=drank alcoholic beverages excessively] and, following a wild binge, was exiled to a remote post in the mountains …— Stanley Karnow

8 : to deal another card to (as in blackjack) hit me

intransitive verb

1a : to strike a blow boxers hitting furiously at each other

b : to arrive with a forceful effect like that of a blow the storm hit

2a : to come into contact with something the plate shattered when it hit

b : attack where the terrorists would hit next

c of a fish : strike sense 11b

d baseball : bat sense 1 next up to hit

3 : to succeed in attaining or coming up with something —often used with on or uponhit on a solution

4 obsolete : to be in agreement : suit

5 of an internal combustion engine : to fire a quantity of mixed fuel and air in the cylinders (see cylinder sense 2b) the engine wouldn't hit

hit it big

: to achieve great success

hit it off

: to get along well : become friends they hit it off immediately

hit on

: to make especially sexual overtures to

hit the books

: to study especially with intensity

hit the fan

: to have a major usually undesirable impact

hit the ground running

: to begin or proceed quickly, energetically, or effectively

hit the hay or hit the sack

: to go to bed

hit the high points or hit the high spots

: to touch on or at the most important points or places

hit the jackpot

: to become notably and unexpectedly successful

hit the nail on the head

: to be exactly right

hit the road

: leave, travel also : to set out

hit the roof or hit the ceiling

: to give vent to a burst of anger or angry protest

hit the spot

: to give complete or special satisfaction —used especially of food or drink

hit the wall

1 : to reach the point of physical exhaustion during strenuous activity

2 : to reach a limiting point or situation at which progress or success ceases

hit

Definition of hit (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : an act or instance of striking or forcefully coming in contact with someone or something : an act or instance of hitting or being hit penalized for an illegal hit from behind The bunker took a direct hit from the bombers.

2a : a stroke of luck

b : a great success The show was a big hit. a compilation of the band's greatest hits The pony rides were a hit with the kids.

3 : a telling or critical remark

4 baseball : base hit

5 : a quantity of a drug ingested at one time took a hit of LSD

6 : a premeditated murder committed especially by a member of a crime syndicate (see syndicate entry 1 sense 3c) a hit on a rival gang leader

7 : an instance of connecting to a particular website a million hits per day

8 : a successful match in a search (as of a computer database or the Internet)

Other Words from hit Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about hit

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Examples of hit in a Sentence

Verb She told her son to stop hitting his sister. She hit him hard with her purse. The boxers hit each other with their fists. The boxers were hitting furiously at each other. She hit the ball right to the shortstop. The ball hit the house. The plate shattered when it hit the floor. The tank was hit by enemy fire. He was hit by a car. The ship hit an iceberg. Noun The player was penalized for an illegal hit from behind. The torpedo made a direct hit. The pony ride was a big hit at the party.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The next three batters all hit singles and Josh Naylor's blooper into short center field pushed the Padres ahead 3-2. — Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, "Lift off: Diamondbacks win fourth in a row, sweep Padres, climb to .500," 17 Aug. 2020 Mays hit 646 homers with the Giants and his final 14 with the New York Mets, including No. 660 on Aug. 17, 1973, against Cincinnati’s Don Gullett. — John Shea, SFChronicle.com, "Giants face Angels next four games; Albert Pujols one homer shy of Willie Mays," 16 Aug. 2020 The state has hit as high as 15,300 cases, but has not had over 10,000 cases since July 25. — Wells Dusenbury, sun-sentinel.com, "COVID-19 in Florida: State reports lowest daily number of new cases in nearly eight weeks," 16 Aug. 2020 By the second full day of the 2020-21 school year, the first cases of COVID-19 exposure hit the news and the first few students were sent home to quarantine. — al, "Fewer kids, already some coronavirus cases, but Alabama is having school," 16 Aug. 2020 Yoan Moncada, Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez hit consecutive home runs during the fifth inning Sunday for the Chicago White Sox against the St. Louis Cardinals at Guaranteed Rate Field. — Lamond Pope, chicagotribune.com, "White Sox hit 4 home consecutive home runs for the 2nd time in franchise history," 16 Aug. 2020 Middleton hit a clinching three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining. — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Meet the Magic: Seven things to know about the Bucks first-round playoff opponent," 16 Aug. 2020 Initially, Candelario hit a triple that scored Miguel Cabrera for a 4-3 lead. — Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press, "Furious Detroit Tigers' Ron Gardenhire, Cameron Maybin ejected against Indians," 16 Aug. 2020 But with a runner on second and two outs in the eighth, Kurt Suzuki hit a chopper to Ruiz. — Jon Meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Orioles rally against Max Scherzer, but fall short after late error in 6-5 loss to Nationals," 16 Aug. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun His first big-league hit came on a 91 mph fastball and drove in Miguel Cabrera and Jonathan Schoop to trim the Tigers' deficit to one run. — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Tigers can't overcome Matthew Boyd's early troubles, lose 7-2 to White Sox," 18 Aug. 2020 Japan’s economy suffered its worst hit since at least 1980, as the coronavirus pandemic took a heavy toll on consumer spending and exports. — Tim Elfrink, Washington Post, "Live updates: New Zealand postpones election amid new coronavirus cases," 17 Aug. 2020 The Cubs were sporting a commanding 4-0 lead and the Brewers had yet to collect their first hit heading to the seventh, and the big question was how much longer would Cubs manager David Ross let Darvish go? — Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Cubs 4, Brewers 2: Justin Smoak's seventh-inning homer foils Yu Darvish's no-hit bid," 13 Aug. 2020 Dietrich started the eighth inning rally with a single to right, his third hit of the night. — Dallas News, "Derek Dietrich makes quite the first impression, sparks Rangers’ eighth-inning rally vs. Mariners," 13 Aug. 2020 Votto said his walk-off hit didn't erase the error. — Bobby Nightengale, The Enquirer, "Joey Votto's walk-off double gives Cincinnati Reds their 1st walk-off win of the season," 12 Aug. 2020 Britain's labor market saw its worst hit since 2009, the height of the global financial crisis. — Bernhard Warner, Fortune, "Investors drive global stocks higher as the S&P 500 nears record territory," 11 Aug. 2020 Arauz later got his first hit on a bloop single to center to lead off the fifth. — orlandosentinel.com, "Kevin Kiermaier, Manuel Margot lead hit parade as Tampa Bay Rays prevail 8-7 at Boston Red Sox," 11 Aug. 2020 Arauz later got his first hit on a bloop single to center to lead off the fifth. — courant.com, "Kiermaier, Margot lead hit parade as Rays beat Red Sox 8-7," 11 Aug. 2020

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

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Last Updated

19 Aug 2020

Cite this Entry

“Hit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hit. Accessed 22 Aug. 2020.

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More Definitions for hit

hit

verb

English Language Learners Definition of hit

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to move your hand, a bat, etc., quickly so that it touches someone or something in a forceful or violent way

: to cause (something, such as a ball) to move by hitting it forcefully with a bat, racket, etc.

: to touch (something or someone) in a forceful or violent way after moving at a high speed

hit

noun

English Language Learners Definition of hit (Entry 2 of 2)

: an act of hitting someone or something

—used to describe being hit by something (such as a bullet, bomb, punch, etc.) —usually used with take —often used figuratively

: something that is very successful

See the full definition for hit in the English Language Learners Dictionary

hit

\ ˈhit

\

hit; hitting

Kids Definition of hit

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : to strike or be struck by (someone or something) forcefully

2 : to cause or allow (something) to come into contact with something He hit his head on the door.

3 : to affect or be affected by in a harmful or damaging way He was hit hard by the loss.

4 : occur sense 1 The storm hit without warning.

5 : to come upon by chance She hit upon the right answer.

6 : to arrive at Prices hit a new high.

hit

Kids Definition of hit (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a blow striking an object aimed at Bombers scored a direct hit.

2 : something very successful The show is a hit.

3 : a batted baseball that enables the batter to reach base safely

4 : a match in a computer search The search produced over a thousand hits.

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