hitch

1 a danger or difficulty that is hidden or not easily recognized there are always a few hitches when you launch a system as complex as this one Synonyms booby trap, catch, catch-22, gimmick, gotcha, pitfall, joker, land mine, snagRelated Words snare, trap, trip wire, web; hazard, peril, risk; bomb, bombshell, kicker, surprise (also surprize); bait, decoy, lure

2 a fixed period of time during which a person holds a job or position signed on for a three-year hitch in the army Synonyms term, stint, tenure, tourRelated Words shift, watch; go, turn; duration, standing, time; cycle, span, spell, stretch; life, life span, lifetime, run

1 to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion kept hitching up his pants because they were too big in the waist Synonyms buck, jerk, hoick, jolt, twitch, yankRelated Words bump, jounce, lurch, pitch, stagger; jig, jiggle, jog, joggle, shake; drag, lug, pull, tug; pluck, tweak; grab, rip, snap (up), snatch, tear, wrench, wrest, wring

2 to put or bring together so as to form a new and longer whole she escaped out the window by using a makeshift rope of bedsheets and clothing she'd hitched together Synonyms catenate, chain, compound, concatenate, conjugate, couple, connect, hook, interconnect, interlink, join, link, yokeRelated Words articulate, dovetail, integrate, interlock, intermesh; cord, string, wire; cement, coalesce, combine, fuse, unite, weldNear Antonyms detach, disengage, divide, part, split; cleave, rupture, sever, sunderAntonyms disconnect, disjoin, disjoint, dissever, disunite, separate, unchain, uncouple, unhitch, unlink, unyoke

3 to put securely in place or in a desired position hitched the trailer to the back of the car Synonyms anchor, catch, clamp, fix, fasten, moor, secure, setRelated Words embed (also imbed), entrench (also intrench), implant, ingrain (also engrain), lodge, stuff, wedgeNear Antonyms extract, prize, pry, pull, root (out), tear (out), uproot, wrest, yankAntonyms loose, loosen, unfasten, unfix, unloose, unloosen

4 to travel by securing free rides her brother hitched across the country after he graduated from college Synonyms hitchhike, thumbRelated Words bum; stow away; carjack, hijack (also highjack)