hitchhike
verb
hitch·hike
ˈhich-ˌhīk 
hitchhiked; hitchhiking; hitchhikes
1
: to travel by securing free rides from passing vehicles
2
: to be carried or transported by chance or unintentionally
destructive insects hitchhiking on ships
: to solicit and obtain (a free ride) especially in a passing vehicle
hitchhiker
noun
Examples of hitchhike in a Sentence
Her car broke down, so she had to hitchhike back home.
He hitchhiked his way across the country last summer.
Recent Examples on the Web
Four years into his prison sentence, Manchester escaped from an Anson County prison and hitchhiked to Charlotte.
—
Sydney Sasser, Charlotte Observer, 26 June 2025
The towers could allow some of their members to reach new places or to hitchhike on other organisms such as fruit flies.
—Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 5 June 2025
There are plenty of smaller-scale grin-inducing moments, too, like bouncing high off a hitchhiking shyguy or seeing a traffic cone sprout legs and walk off (there was a tiny biddybud inside it, don'tcha know).
—ArsTechnica, 3 June 2025
In the cinematic video, Carpenter is hitchhiking across a desert landscape in everything from pickup trucks to station wagons to a grocery cart sidecar beside a motorcycle, all the while accompanied by himbos washing themselves with gasoline or trying to smoke a firecracker like a cigarette.
—Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hitchhike
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Sydney Sasser, Charlotte Observer, 26 June 2025
The towers could allow some of their members to reach new places or to hitchhike on other organisms such as fruit flies.
—Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 5 June 2025
There are plenty of smaller-scale grin-inducing moments, too, like bouncing high off a hitchhiking shyguy or seeing a traffic cone sprout legs and walk off (there was a tiny biddybud inside it, don'tcha know).
—ArsTechnica, 3 June 2025
In the cinematic video, Carpenter is hitchhiking across a desert landscape in everything from pickup trucks to station wagons to a grocery cart sidecar beside a motorcycle, all the while accompanied by himbos washing themselves with gasoline or trying to smoke a firecracker like a cigarette.
—Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hitchhike
Cite this Entry
“Hitchhike.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hitchhike. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hitchhike
verb
hitch·hike
ˈhich-ˌhīk
: to travel by securing free rides from passing vehicles
hitchhiker
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share