# hit

Pronunciation: US say "HIT" /hɪt/; UK

## Verb

1. To deliver a blow to someone or something, either directly or by using a weapon or thrown object.
   - Simple: To strike a person or thing with part of your body, a weapon, or something you throw.
   - _The knight hit his opponent's shield with a heavy sword._
   - _Please don't hit your little brother, even if he grabbed your toy first._
3. To strike or crash into something with sudden force.
   - Simple: To touch or crash into something hard and fast.
   - _The truck skidded and hit the guardrail at full speed._
   - _A falling branch can hit the roof during high winds._
4. To affect someone or something strongly, especially in a sudden, unpleasant or damaging way.
   - Simple: To affect someone or something strongly, often suddenly or badly.
   - _Trade tariffs can hit consumers as much as producers._
   - _The scandal hit the company's reputation hard._
5. To reach or achieve a particular level, amount, or goal. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To reach a certain level, number, or goal.
   - _The temperature hit ninety degrees by noon._
   - _The company expects to hit its sales goal next quarter._
6. To succeed in touching or striking a target in the right place.
   - Simple: To touch or strike a target in exactly the right spot.
   - _The archer hit the target dead center._
   - _He needs to hit the narrow gap to score._
7. To reach a place or the public, used especially of a film, product, or piece of news that is released or becomes available. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To come out or become available to people, used especially of a movie, a product, or news.
   - _The sequel is expected to hit theaters in time for the holidays._
   - _By the time the story hit the morning papers, the senator had already resigned._
8. To stop by or visit a place briefly. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To visit a place quickly for a short time.
   - _Let's hit a few shops downtown before dinner._
   - _They hit the new café on their way home._
9. To press a button, key, or switch, as in 'hit Enter' or 'hit the lights'.
   - Simple: To press a button, key, or switch, for example to turn something on or off.
   - _Hit the power key to turn the monitor on._
   - _He hit the space bar twice by accident._
14. To reach or achieve what was aimed at or wanted, often succeeding by luck.
   - Simple: To reach or succeed at what you were trying for, often by luck.
   - _She has played the same lottery numbers every week for ten years, convinced that one day they will finally hit._
   - _On the final spin her number hit, and the whole roulette table erupted in cheers._
15. In baseball, to take a turn batting during an inning.
   - Simple: In baseball, to take your turn at bat.
   - _Power hitters usually hit in the middle of the order._
   - _He hit leadoff for the first time in his career._
16. To dawn on someone abruptly and with full clarity, said of a thought, fact, or realization.
   - Simple: To suddenly become very clear to someone, used about an idea or a fact.
   - _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._
17. To meet with a difficulty or obstacle of some kind. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To run into a problem or difficulty.
   - _The project hit a major setback when funding fell through._
   - _Hikers sometimes hit rough terrain on the upper trail._
18. To flirt with someone or openly try to start a romantic or sexual involvement with them, used with "on". *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To flirt with someone or try to start a romantic or sexual relationship 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._
19. To guess correctly, or to suddenly discover or come upon something.
   - Simple: To guess something correctly, or to discover it by chance.
   - _Researchers sometimes hit on a discovery entirely by accident._
   - _After weeks of testing, the team hit upon a cheaper way to purify the water._
23. To kill a person, usually acting on the orders of a third party. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To kill someone, usually because another person ordered it.
   - _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._
25. To attack, often verbally or through criticism rather than physically.
   - Simple: To attack someone, especially with words.
   - _Opposition leaders hit the new policy as reckless and unfair._
   - _Pundits love to hit candidates over old mistakes._
26. To attack a target, especially by landing forces on a shore from the sea.
   - Simple: To attack a place, especially by landing forces from the sea.
   - _Allied forces hit the enemy shoreline before sunrise._
   - _The fleet was ordered to hit the island from three directions._
28. To inhale a quantity of smoke from a narcotic substance, especially marijuana. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: To breathe in smoke from a drug, 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._
29. Of an exercise or a person training, to work a particular muscle or body part.
   - Simple: To work a certain muscle or part of the body during exercise.
   - _Squats hit the quads, glutes and core all at once._
   - _A close-grip press hits the triceps harder than a regular bench press does._
30. In blackjack, to deal another card to a player, or, of a player, to take another card.
   - Simple: In blackjack, to give a player another card, or to take one more card yourself.
   - _"Hit me," she told the dealer, tapping the felt beside her chips._
   - _The dealer hit him twice, and he went over twenty-one._
31. To have sexual intercourse with a person. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: To have sex with someone.
   - _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._
32. To begin playing a piece or passage of music. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To start playing a song, beat, or note.
   - _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._

## Noun

2. A song, film, video game, or similar work that is a great success, widely known and praised.
   - Simple: A song, movie, or game that becomes very popular and loved by many people.
   - _The studio was desperate for a box-office hit after years of flops._
   - _The game became an unexpected hit among younger players._
10. In baseball, a fair ball batted so that the batter reaches base safely without the aid of an error or a fielder's choice.
   - Simple: In baseball, batting the ball and reaching base safely, not through a fielder's mistake or a play on another runner.
   - _The line drive dropped for a clean hit between the outfielders._
   - _He collected three hits in the championship game._
11. A blow or strike that lands, whether a punch, a collision, or a projectile reaching its target.
   - Simple: A blow or strike that lands on someone or something, like a punch or a bullet hitting its target.
   - _The fighter staggered after a powerful hit to the head._
   - _The warship took a direct hit from a torpedo and began to sink within minutes._
13. A blow; a damaging or disastrous occurrence.
   - Simple: A sudden event that causes harm or damage.
   - _The factory closure was a devastating hit to the small town._
   - _Tourism took a heavy hit after the floods washed out the main highway into the valley._
20. A recorded visit to a website, or a single request to a web server for one file.
   - Simple: One visit or request recorded by a website's server.
   - _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._
21. A result that matches the terms of a search in a computer system or search engine.
   - Simple: A result that matches what you searched for online or on a computer.
   - _The search engine displayed the top ten hits first._
   - _Every hit in the database matched at least one keyword._
22. A premeditated murder carried out for criminal or political purposes.
   - Simple: A killing that is planned in advance, often ordered by someone else.
   - _Investigators believe the killing was a professional hit._
   - _The mob boss reportedly arranged a hit on the informant._
24. An attack carried out against a place, a person, or a group of people.
   - Simple: A planned attack on 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._
27. The amount of an addictive or illegal drug taken in one go. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: One dose of a dangerous or addictive drug.
   - _Addicts often need a larger hit to feel the same effect._
   - _A single hit of the drug was enough to cause an overdose._

## Adjective

12. Very successful, especially in terms of popularity or commercial reception.
   - Simple: Very popular and very successful.
   - _The band's hit album sold millions of copies worldwide._
   - _She starred in a hit show that ran for six seasons._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To bump or crash into something, whether aimed or by accident.
- (verb) In backgammon, to move onto a point held by one lone opposing checker, sending that checker to the bar.
- (verb) To access or send requests to a system, such as a server, database or API.
- (noun) A successful shot in the guessing game Battleship, when the square called contains part of a rival's vessel.
- (noun) A remark or idea that is especially well aimed or fitting.
- (noun) In backgammon, a move that sends an opposing checker to the bar, from which it must come back into play.
- (noun) In backgammon, a win scored after the loser has already borne off some checkers, worth less than a gammon.
- (pronoun) A regional form of it, the third-person neuter pronoun.

## Origin

Proto-Germanic *hittijaną ("to come upon, find") gave Old Norse hitta ("to strike, meet"), which passed into Old English as hittan, meaning "to meet with, come upon," and then into Middle English as hitten, "to hit, strike, make contact with." Danish hitte ("to find") and Icelandic hitta ("to meet") are related.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hit (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).