hitch
See also: Hitch
English
A hitch (knot that attaches to an object)
Etymology
Probably from Middle English hicchen, hytchen, icchen (“to move; to move as with a jerk”), of obscure origin. Lacks cognates in other languages. Compare itch, hike.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hɪt͡ʃ/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪtʃ
Noun
hitch (plural hitches)
- A sudden pull.
- Any of various knots used to attach a rope to an object other than another rope.[1]
- A fastener or connection point, as for a trailer.
- His truck sported a heavy-duty hitch for his boat.
- (informal) A problem, delay or source of difficulty.
- The banquet went off without a hitch ― The banquet went smoothly.
- 1961 July, “Glasgow emergency - the restoration of Clydeside steam suburban services”, in Trains Illustrated, page 432:
- The service operated according to plan on the Monday morning with only a few hitches.
- 2008 October, Davy Rothbart, “How I caught up with dad”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 8, ISSN 1054-4836, page 110:
- Over the next week, the hitch in my dad's stride eased a bit. But we'd run out of things to talk about.
- A hidden or unfavorable condition or element.
- Synonym: catch
- The deal sounds too good to be true. What's the hitch?
- (military, slang) A period of time spent in the military.
- She served two hitches in Vietnam.
- 2004, June 3, Stephen J. Hedges & Mike Dorning, Chicago Tribune; Orlando Sentinel; page pg. A.1
- U.S. TROOPS FACE LONGER ARMY HITCH; SOLDIERS BOUND FOR IRAQ, ... WILL BE RETAINED
- A large Californian minnow, Lavinia exilicauda.
Hyponyms
- Magnus hitch
- midshipman's hitch
- rigger's hitch
- rolling hitch
- taut-line hitch
- tent-line hitch
Translations
sudden pull
|
knot
|
connection point for trailer
|
problem, delay or source of difficulty
|
Verb
hitch (third-person singular simple present hitches, present participle hitching, simple past and past participle hitched)
- (transitive) To pull with a jerk.
- She hitched her jeans up and then tightened her belt.
- (transitive) To attach, tie or fasten.
- Synonyms: affix, join, put together; see also Thesaurus:join
- He hitched the bedroll to his backpack and went camping.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 8, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- Philander went into the next room, which was just a lean-to hitched on to the end of the shanty, and came back with a salt mackerel that dripped brine like a rainstorm. Then he put the coffee pot on the stove and rummaged out a loaf of dry bread and some hardtack.
- 2020 December 3, Cade Metz; Daisuke Wakabayashi, “Google Researcher Says She Was Fired Over Paper Highlighting Bias in A.I.”, in The New York Times, ISSN 0362-4331:
- The company has hitched its future to artificial intelligence — whether with its voice-enabled digital assistant or its automated placement of advertising for marketers — as the breakthrough technology to make the next generation of services and devices smarter and more capable.
- (informal) To marry oneself to; especially to get hitched.
- Synonyms: splice, wed; see also Thesaurus:marry
- (informal, transitive) Clipping of hitchhike, to thumb a ride.
- to hitch a ride
- (intransitive) To become entangled or caught; to be linked or yoked; to unite; to cling.
- 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), 6th edition, London: […] J[ames] Bettenham, for Jonah Bowyer, […], published 1727, OCLC 21766567:
- atoms […] which at length hitched together
-
- (intransitive) To move interruptedly or with halts, jerks, or steps; said of something obstructed or impeded.
- Frank’s breath hitched in his throat when he saw the knife being pointed at him.
- 1733–1737, Alexander Pope, [Imitations of Horace], London: […] R[obert] Dodsley [et al.]:
- 1655, Thomas Fuller, James Nichols, editor, The Church History of Britain, […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), new edition, London: […] [James Nichols] for Thomas Tegg and Son, […], published 1837, OCLC 913056315:
- To ease themselves […] by hitching into another place.
- (intransitive, UK) To strike the legs together in going, as horses; to interfere.
- 1686, London Gazette:
- Stolen […] A brown Gelding […] all his paces, and hitches a little in his pace.
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Derived terms
- hitchhike
- hitchhiker
- hitching
- hitching-bar
- hitching post
- hitching rail
- hitch one's wagon to a star
- unhitch
- unhitched
Translations
to pull with a jerk
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to attach
|
References
- Knots and Splices by Cyrus L Day, Adlard Coles Nautical, 2001
Further reading
hitch on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - List of hitch knots on Wikipedia.Wikipedia