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hit the road

idiom

Formshits the road, hitting the road, hit the road

2 meanings of hit the road

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  1. 1
    idiomslangintransitive
    To depart from a place and go on one's way.

    After the last guest left, the caterers hit the road and went home.

    Thanks for having us, but we'd better hit the road now.

    Similarleave, go (entry), depart, split

    Oppositestay

    Note

    Here no vehicle is needed: the road is figurative, and you can hit the road and then walk home. It is casual slang for leaving, and it often follows "it's time to" or "we'd better" as a friendly way to say you are going. Hit the trail is its outdoor counterpart. The story of the striking verb belongs to the driving sense.

  2. 2
    idiomslangintransitive
    To set out on a journey by car or other road vehicle.

    The band loaded their gear into the van and hit the road for the next city.

    If the weather clears, we'll hit the road right after breakfast.

    Similarleave, depart, go (entry)

    Note

    Slang that treats setting off as a single blow, as if the trip began the moment tires struck the road. Russian uses the same verb of striking for departures, in udáritʹsja v begá and udáritʹ po tápkam. Only the first word inflects, and hit has the same form in the present and the past, so "we hit the road at dawn" can describe a habit or a single morning. Hit the pavement is its slang twin.

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