hitch
pronunciation
How to pronounce hitch in British English:
UK [hɪtʃ]
How to pronounce hitch in American English:
US [hɪtʃ]
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- Noun:
- a period of time spent in military service
- the state of inactivity following an interruption
- an unforeseen obstacle
- a connection between a vehicle and the load that it pulls
- a knot that can be undone by pulling against the strain that holds it
- any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome
- the uneven manner of walking that results from an injured leg
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- Verb:
- to hook or entangle
- walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury
- jump vertically, with legs stiff and back arched
- travel by getting free rides from motorists
- connect to a vehicle: "hitch the trailer to the car"
Word Origin
- hitch (v.)
- mid-15c., probably from Middle English icchen "to move as with a jerk, to stir" (c. 1200). It lacks cognates in other languages. The connection with icchen may be in notion of "hitching up" pants or boots with a jerking motion. Sense of "become fastened," especially by a hook, first recorded 1570s, originally nautical. Meaning "to marry" is from 1844 (to hitch horses together "get along well," especially of married couples, is from 1837, American English). Short for hitchhike (v.) by 1931. Related: Hitched; hitching.
- hitch (n.)
- 1660s, "a limp or hobble;" 1670s, "an abrupt movement," from hitch (v.). Meaning "a means by which a rope is made fast" is from 1769, nautical. The sense of "obstruction" is first recorded 1748; military sense of "enlistment" is from 1835.
Example
- 1. The hitch , again , is governance .
- 2. The slight hitch is that this oil is not easily accessible .
- 3. One day a chinese visitor could be heard rebuking an american official outside the american pavilion , closed because of a technical hitch .
- 4. President obama came to india in november 2010 hoping to hitch america 's recovery to the asian nation 's inexpensive labor and emerging middle-class consumers .
- 5. As the truck driver drove along one day , he saw a priest hitch hiking , he pulled over and asked the priest , " where are you going , father ? "