hitchhike

verb

hitch·​hike ˈhich-ˌhīk How to pronounce hitchhike (audio)
hitchhiked; hitchhiking; hitchhikes

intransitive verb

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

transitive verb

: 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
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.
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

Word History

First Known Use

1923, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hitchhike was in 1923

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hitchhike.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hitchhike. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

hitchhike

verb
hitch·​hike ˈhich-ˌhīk How to pronounce hitchhike (audio)
: to travel by securing free rides from passing vehicles
hitchhiker noun

More from Merriam-Webster on hitchhike

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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