hitch

noun

1

: limp

had a hitch in his step

2

: a sudden movement or pull : jerk

gave his trousers a hitch

3

a

: a sudden halt : stoppage

a hitch in the performance

b

: a usually unforeseen difficulty or obstacle

The plan went off without a hitch.

4

: the act or fact of catching hold

5

: a connection between a vehicle or implement and a detachable source of power (such as a tractor or horse)

attached a trailer hitch to his pickup

6

: a delimited period especially of military service

serving a four-year hitch in the navy

7

: any of various knots used to form a temporary noose in a line or to secure a line temporarily to an object

8

: lift entry 2 sense 5b

catching a hitch into town

Synonyms of hitch

• snag
• risk
• catch
• kicker
• land mine

Examples of hitch in a Sentence

The plan went off without a hitch.

He went back to college after doing his hitch in the army.

a seven-year hitch at the newspaper

Recent Examples on the Web

Things do not go down without a hitch, despite Hollis’s exceptional menu planning and hosting abilities. —Alessandra Codinha, InStyle, 3 June 2026

Legal glitches and hitches will eventually be found when AI laws are passed without suitable scrutiny and analysis. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026

But the gathering goes off without a hitch, and Whitaker, 27, is ready to spill on everything she’s currently obsessed with. —Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 29 May 2026

Blue Origin spent 10 months tweaking the vehicle to guarantee a successful booster landing, and New Glenn’s second launch in November 2025 seemingly went off without a hitch. —Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 29 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

First Known Use

1627, in the meaning defined at sense 7

Phrases Containing hitch

• Blackwall hitch
• clove hitch
• half hitch
• hitch a lift
• hitch a ride
• hitch one's wagon to
• hitch up
• rolling hitch
• timber hitch

Rhymes for hitch

• bitch
• ditch
• fiche
• glitch
• ich
• itch
• kitsch
• lich
• mitch
• niche
• pitch
• snitch

Kids Definition

hitch

1 of 2 verb

ˈhich 

1

: to move by jerks

2

: to catch, fasten, or connect by or as if by a hook or knot

hitch a horse to a rail

3

: hitchhike

hitcher noun

hitch

2 of 2 noun

1

: a jerky movement or pull

2

: an unexpected stop or obstacle

the plan went off without a hitch

3

: the connection between something towed (as a plow or trailer) and its mover (as a tractor, automobile, or animal)

4

: a knot used for a temporary fastening

5

: a period usually of military service

do a hitch in the army