hit

Less common meanings

16. 16
    verbtransitive

    To dawn on someone abruptly and with full clarity, said of a thought, fact, or realization.

    As she stood in the empty apartment, it finally hit her that her son had moved away for good.

    The full scale of the loss didn't hit the players until they saw the final standings.

    Similarstrike

    Note

    The realization does the striking here, and the person takes the blow: the idea is the subject and whoever grasps it is the object.

17. 17
    meet a problemverbcolloquialtransitive

    To meet with a difficulty or obstacle of some kind.

    The project hit a major setback when funding fell through.

    Hikers sometimes hit rough terrain on the upper trail.

    UsageCommon objects: hit a snag, hit a wall, hit traffic.

    Similarencounter, meet, face, suffer

18. 18
    verbcolloquialintransitive

    To flirt with someone or openly try to start a romantic or sexual involvement with them, used with "on".

    He's a nice guy, but he tends to hit on every new woman in the office.

    She laughed it off when a stranger at the gym started hitting on her.

    Similarflirt

19. 19
    discoververbintransitive

    To guess correctly, or to suddenly discover or come upon something.

    Researchers sometimes hit on a discovery entirely by accident.

    After weeks of testing, the team hit upon a cheaper way to purify the water.

    UsageMostly hit on or hit upon + an idea or solution; with a person as object, hit on means flirt.

    Similarstumble, chance, happen

    Note

    Finding rather than striking, close to the old "come upon" meaning behind the striking verb. Shakespeare's "Thou hast hit it" in The Taming of the Shrew means "you've guessed it," and Tennyson still uses it in 1850 for a dream that might "hit the mood" of Love. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • The striking verb derives from an older verb meaning to meet with or come upon. en.wiktionary.org
    • “Thou hast hit it” occurs in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew; Petruchio speaks the line. folgerdigitaltexts.org
    • Hit in the Shakespeare quotation means to guess correctly. en.wiktionary.org
    • Tennyson's In Memoriam was first published in 1850. en.wikisource.org
    • Tennyson's 1850 text describes a dream that can “hit the mood” of Love. gutenberg.org
20. 20
    page viewnouncountable

    A recorded visit to a website, or a single request to a web server for one file.

    The site recorded over a million hits during the product launch.

    A single hit may represent just one image loading, not a full page view.

    Similarvisit, request

21. 21
    search resultnouncountable

    A result that matches the terms of a search in a computer system or search engine.

    The search engine displayed the top ten hits first.

    Every hit in the database matched at least one keyword.

    Similarresult, match

    Note

    Search vocabulary: every record that matches a query counts as one hit, so a search can return no hits or thousands. Keep it apart from the web-traffic hit, which counts requests for files from a server. One visitor loading a page full of images can rack up many traffic hits, so that count overstates audience in a way search hits do not. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Search hits are matching records; their number depends on how many records match, potentially none or thousands. elastic.co
    • Web-traffic hits count requests for files from a server, rather than completed file transmissions. awstats.org
    • Loading one page containing images can generate multiple traffic hits, making hits an inflated measure of audience; search hits instead count matching records. en.wikipedia.org
22. 22
    planned murdernouncountable

    A premeditated murder carried out for criminal or political purposes.

    Investigators believe the killing was a professional hit.

    The mob boss reportedly arranged a hit on the informant.

    UsageYou order, arrange or carry out a hit, often a hit on someone.

    Similarkilling, murder, assassination, execution

    Note

    The noun for what the slang verb does: a planned killing, usually ordered by someone who stays out of sight. The word signals organized crime or political murder rather than ordinary homicide.

23. 23
    kill someoneverbslangtransitive

    To kill a person, usually acting on the orders of a third party.

    The syndicate hired an outsider to hit a rival boss.

    Police believe the cartel had the informant hit, since his body turned up a week before the trial.

    UsageBelongs to crime talk, often as have someone hit; elsewhere it sounds like gangster film language.

    Similarkill, murder, assassinate, eliminate, whack

    Note

    Underworld slang, the language of contract killing, where the person who gives the order is rarely the one who does the deed. Fredo's line in the 1973 screenplay of The Godfather Part II, "why would they ever hit poor old Frankie Five-Angels?", shows the usual shape, with a vague they as the subject. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The Godfather Part II screenplay has a 1973 draft. dailyscript.com
    • Fredo speaks the quoted words in that screenplay. dailyscript.com
24. 24
    a raidnouncountable

    An attack carried out against a place, a person, or a group of people.

    Commanders ordered a hit on the rebel stronghold at midnight.

    Detectives learned that the gang was planning a hit on a rival crew's headquarters.

    Similarattack, strike, raid, assault

25. 25
    criticizeverbfigurativelytransitive

    To attack, often verbally or through criticism rather than physically.

    Opposition leaders hit the new policy as reckless and unfair.

    Pundits love to hit candidates over old mistakes.

    UsagePatterns: hit a plan as reckless, hit someone over old mistakes.

    Similarattack, criticize, slam, blast, lambaste

    Oppositepraise, defend, laud

26. 26
    attack by seaverbtransitive

    To attack a target, especially by landing forces on a shore from the sea.

    Allied forces hit the enemy shoreline before sunrise.

    The fleet was ordered to hit the island from three directions.

    Similarattack, strike, storm, assault, raid

    Note

    Military shorthand for an assault, especially one that comes in from the sea. The object is the place, not the defenders: troops hit an island, a beach, a coast. Hindsight like "I don't think we'd ever have hit that island" shows how it names a whole operation rather than a single strike. For criticism rather than combat, see the figurative "attack" sense. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The quoted wording appears as an unattributed military usage example in Wiktionary. en.wiktionary.org
27. 27
    nouncolloquialcountable

    The amount of an addictive or illegal drug taken in one go.

    Addicts often need a larger hit to feel the same effect.

    A single hit of the drug was enough to cause an overdose.

    Similardose, fix, shot

28. 28
    inhale smokeverbslangUStransitive

    To inhale a quantity of smoke from a narcotic substance, especially marijuana.

    They sat on the porch for hours, hitting a joint and talking until dawn.

    She had never seen anyone hit a bong that hard without coughing.

    Similarpuff, toke, smoke

    Note

    US slang from smoking culture. The object is the joint, the pipe or the drug itself, often just it, as in "Stay Fly" (2005), where it stands for the smoke and the taste of each pull is likened to fruit. Each hit is one draw on the smoke, and the same word serves as a noun for a single dose.

29. 29
    verbtransitive

    Of an exercise or a person training, to work a particular muscle or body part.

    Squats hit the quads, glutes and core all at once.

    A close-grip press hits the triceps harder than a regular bench press does.

    Similarwork, target

    Note

    Gym talk usually makes the exercise the subject and the muscle the object, though lifters also say they hit legs or hit chest: squats hit the quads, a close-grip press hits the triceps, another movement hits the long head. Trainers use it to compare movements by where the effort lands, so the useful question is what an exercise hits and how hard. Work and target say the same thing more formally. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Squats work the quadriceps. mayoclinic.org
    • A close-grip bench press works the triceps. nasm.org
    • Exercises can work the long head of the triceps. muscleandfitness.com
30. 30
    verbtransitive

    In blackjack, to deal another card to a player, or, of a player, to take another card.

    "Hit me," she told the dealer, tapping the felt beside her chips.

    The dealer hit him twice, and he went over twenty-one.

    Note

    At the blackjack table the player gives the order and the dealer carries it out: "Hit me" asks for one more card. In Hit me the dealer does the hitting and the player is the object, but players also hit on their own, meaning they take another card, as in I hit on sixteen. An extra card can take the hand over the limit, and a player who wants no more says stand instead. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • In blackjack, “Hit me” requests another card from the dealer. en.wiktionary.org
    • A player can hit, meaning take another card. bicyclecards.com
    • Taking another card can make a hand exceed the limit of 21. en.wikipedia.org
    • Standing means taking no more cards. bicyclecards.com
31. 31
    have sexverbslangUStransitive

    To have sexual intercourse with a person.

    When his friend asked if he had hit it yet, he just shrugged and said they were taking things slow.

    Plenty of guys just want to hit it and then move on.

    Similarbed, bang, screw, shag

    Note

    Crude American slang, heard in boasting or joking rather than anywhere polite. It usually takes a pronoun, as in "I'd hit that!", and the pronoun turns the other person into a thing, which is much of why it offends.

32. 32
    start playingverbcolloquialtransitive

    To begin playing a piece or passage of music.

    The moment the couple stepped onto the floor, the band hit the first notes of their song.

    As soon as she nods, the musicians will hit the opening chorus.

    UsageMost familiar as the cue hit it!, telling musicians to start.

    Similarplay, start (entry)

    Note

    A bandstand cue: "Hit it, boys!" is the leader's signal to start. Beyond that imperative, the verb names striking up a song or passage, as in hitting the opening chorus.

33. 33
    verb

    To bump or crash into something, whether aimed or by accident.
34. 34
    verb

    In backgammon, to move onto a point held by one lone opposing checker, sending that checker to the bar.
35. 35
    verb

    To access or send requests to a system, such as a server, database or API.
36. 36
    noun

    A successful shot in the guessing game Battleship, when the square called contains part of a rival's vessel.
37. 37
    noundated

    A remark or idea that is especially well aimed or fitting.

    What late he called a blessing, now was wit, / And God's good providence, a lucky hit.

    1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man.
38. 38
    noun

    In backgammon, a move that sends an opposing checker to the bar, from which it must come back into play.
39. 39
    noun

    In backgammon, a win scored after the loser has already borne off some checkers, worth less than a gammon.
40. 40
    pronoundialectal

    A regional form of it, the third-person neuter pronoun.