hit: Meaning and Definition of

hit

Pronunciation: (hit), [key]
— v., n. hit, hit•ting,
—v.t.
  1. to deal a blow or stroke to: Hit the nail with the hammer.
  2. to come against with an impact or collision, as a missile, a flying fragment, a falling body, or the like: The car hit the tree.
  3. to reach with a missile, a weapon, a blow, or the like, as one throwing, shooting, or striking: Did the bullet hit him?
  4. to succeed in striking: With his final shot he hit the mark.
  5. He hit a single and a home run.
    1. to make (a base hit):He hit a single and a home run.
    2. bat1 (def. 14).
  6. to drive or propel by a stroke: to hit a ball onto the green.
  7. to have a marked effect or influence on; affect severely: We were all hit by the change in management.
  8. to assail effectively and sharply (often fol. by out): The speech hits out at warmongering.
  9. to request or demand of: He hit me for a loan.
  10. to reach or attain (a specified level or amount): Prices are expected to hit a new low. The new train can hit 100 mph.
  11. to be published in or released to; appear in: When will this report hit the papers? What will happen when the story hits the front page?
  12. to land on or arrive in: The troops hit the beach at 0800. When does Harry hit town?
  13. to give (someone) another playing card, drink, portion, etc.: If the dealer hits me with an ace, I'll win the hand. Bartender, hit me again.
  14. to come or light upon; meet with; find: to hit the right road.
  15. to agree with; suit exactly: I'm sure this purple shirt will hit Alfred's fancy.
  16. to solve or guess correctly; come upon the right answer or solution: You've hit it!
  17. to succeed in representing or producing exactly: to hit a likeness in a portrait.
  18. to begin to travel on: Let's hit the road. What time shall we hit the trail?
—v.i.
  1. to strike with a missile, a weapon, or the like; deal a blow or blows: The armies hit at dawn.
  2. to come into collision (often fol. by against, on, or upon): The door hit against the wall.
  3. to kill; murder.
  4. (of an internal-combustion engine) to ignite a mixture of air and fuel as intended: This jalopy is hitting on all cylinders.
  5. to come or light (usually fol. by upon or on): to hit on a new way.
  6. to be congenial or compatible; get along; agree: We hit it off immediately with the new neighbors. She and her brother had never really hit it off.
  7. In his new book he hits off the American temperament with amazing insight.
    1. to represent or describe precisely or aptly:In his new book he hits off the American temperament with amazing insight.
    2. to imitate, esp. in order to satirize.
  8. to make persistent sexual advances to: guys who hit on girls at social events.
  9. a child hitting out in anger and frustration.
    1. to deal a blow aimlessly:a child hitting out in anger and frustration.
    2. to make a violent verbal attack:Critics hit out at the administration's new energy policy.
  10. to study hard; cram.
  11. See(def. 4).
  12. We'll hit the high spots when you come to town.
    1. to go out on the town; go nightclubbing:We'll hit the high spots when you come to town.
    2. to do something in a quick or casual manner, paying attention to only the most important or obvious facets or items:When I clean the house I hit the high spots and that's about all. This course will hit the high spots of ancient history.
  13. He hit me up for ten bucks.
    1. to ask to borrow money from:He hit me up for ten bucks.
    2. to inject a narcotic drug into a vein.
—n.
  1. an impact or collision, as of one thing against another.
  2. a stroke that reaches an object; blow.
  3. a stroke of satire, censure, etc.: a hit at complacency.
  4. See
    1. a game won by a player after the opponent has thrown off one or more men from the board.
    2. any winning game.
  5. a successful stroke, performance, or production; success: The play is a hit.
  6. a dose of a narcotic drug.
  7. (in information retrieval) an instance of successfully locating an item of data in the memory bank of a computer.
  8. a killing, murder, or assassination, esp. one carried out by criminal prearrangements.
  9. without concern for correctness or detail; haphazardly: The paint job had been done hit or miss.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
See also:
  • hit (Thesaurus)