hit

UK /hɪt/ US /hɪt/

noun 10verb 5adj 1pron 1name 1

Definitions

verb

To strike.

One boy hit the other.

Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

To strike.

The ball hit the fence.

a dozen apples, each of them near as large as a Bristol barrel, came tumbling about my ears; one of them hit me on the back as I chanced to stoop, and knocked me down flat on my face.

To strike.

Hit the Enter key to continue.

To strike.

Hit him tonight and throw the body in the river.

FREDO: Mikey, why would they ever hit poor old Frankie Five-Angels? I loved that ole sonuvabitch.

noun

A blow; a punch; a striking against; the collision of one body against another; the stroke that touches anything.

So he the fam'd Cilician fencer prais'd, / And, at each hit, with wonder seem'd amaz'd.

The hit was very slight.

Something very successful, such as a song, film, or video game, that receives widespread recognition and acclaim.

Marie Taglioni was another hit for Her Majesty's Theatre last season, and will be a hit again this season[…]

Chico & Rita opens in the modern era, as an aged, weary Chico shines shoes in his native Cuba. Then a song heard on the radio—a hit he wrote and recorded with Rita in their youth—carries him back to 1948 Havana, where they first met.

A blow; a calamitous or damaging occurrence.

His reputation took a hit when the new information came to light.

An attack on a location, person or people.

A collision of a projectile with the target.

But signalman Bridges was never to answer driver Gimbert's desperate question. A deafening, massive blast blew the wagon to shreds, the 44 high-explosive bombs exploding like simultaneous hits from the aircraft they should have been dropped from. The station was instantly reduced to bits of debris, and the line to a huge crater.

adj

Very successful.

The band played their hit song to the delight of the fans.

Collocations

(noun.) act of hitting sth/sb

ADJ

direct

VERB + HIT

give sth, make, score

She made a hit with her new song and it quickly climbed the charts.

receive, suffer, take

The building suffered a direct hit during the storm last night.

HIT + NOUN

list

The celebrity's new movie is on the hit list of films everyone wants to see this summer.

man, squad

The crime boss hired a hit squad to eliminate his rival.

(noun.) sb/sth that is very popular

ADJ

big, greatest, huge, massive, real, smash

That movie was a huge hit with audiences and won several awards.

immediate, instant

box-office, chart

The movie became a huge box-office hit and made the director famous worldwide.

HIT + NOUN

album, film, movie, record, show, single, song

parade

That song spent three weeks at the top of the hit parade last summer.

PREP

~ with

The new video game has been a huge hit with teenagers since it came out last month.

(verb.) touch sb/sth with a lot of force

ADV

hard

The ball hit the wall hard and bounced back across the court.

almost, nearly

The ball nearly hit my head when I wasn't paying attention during the game.

accidentally

While playing basketball, he accidentally hit the ball straight into the window.

VERB + HIT

want to

When the player fouled him, he wanted to hit the ball even harder.

be going to

The ball is going to hit the window if we keep playing here.

PREP

The ball hit him in the chest during the soccer match.

The ball hit against the window and cracked the glass.

with

The angry child hit the wall with his fist in frustration.

PHRASES

hit sb over the head

The robber hit him over the head and ran away with his wallet.

(verb.) have a bad effect on sb/sth

ADV

badly, hard, heavily, severely

The local economy was heavily hit when the factory closed down last year.

PHRASAL VERBS hit out

ADV

hard

wildly

The boxer swung wildly at his opponent throughout the entire first round.

PREP

The newspaper article hit at the government's failure to protect the environment.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a conspicuous success

noun — the act of contacting one thing with another

noun — (physics) a brief event in which two or more bodies come tog

collision

verb — gain points in a game

verb — make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, oppon

strike

verb — hit with a missile from a weapon

verb — affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely

strike

verb — produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instrumen

strike

verb — hit against

strike

verb — reach a point in time, or a certain state or level

verb — reach a destination, either real or abstract

verb — drive something violently into a location

strike

verb — cause to experience suddenly

strike

verb — encounter by chance

stumble

verb — kill intentionally and with premeditation

Antonyms

miss

Idioms & Phrases

hit the bottle

To drink alcohol steadily and in excess, particularly in response to a setback.

He's been hitting the bottle hard since his wife left him.

nervous hit

A production which receives generally favorable notice, but is not assured of success.

But it hardly mattered; her singing (including "My Own Best Friend" made into a solo) and performing were so strong that few quibbled, especially as she was accomplishing a valiant

hit the nail on the head

To identify something exactly; to arrive at exactly the right answer.

He hit the nail on the head when he said the problem was the thermostat.

hit the spot

To be particularly pleasing or appropriate; to be just right.

Some ice cold lemonade would hit the spot on a warm afternoon.

hit the road

To begin traveling in an automobile or other road vehicle.

If we're gonna make it by sunset, we'd better hit the road.

Example Bank

One boy hit the other.

Wiktionary

Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an

Wiktionary

He tried to hit me but I dodged the blow and went out to plot revenge.

Wiktionary

So he the fam'd Cilician fencer prais'd, / And, at each hit, with wonder seem'd amaz'd.

Wiktionary

The hit was very slight.

Wiktionary

Marie Taglioni was another hit for Her Majesty's Theatre last season, and will be a hit again this season[…]

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, hit is marked as slang, figuratively. Watch for register when choosing this word.

Your note

not saved

0 chars