- 1[transitive] to bring your hand, or an object you are holding, against someone or something quickly and with force hit somebody/something My parents never used to hit me. hit somebody/something with something He hit the nail squarely on the head with the hammer. She hit him on the head with her umbrella.
- 2[transitive] hit something/somebody to come against something or someone with force, especially causing damage or injury The bus hit the bridge. I was hit by a falling stone.
- 3[transitive] hit something (on/against something) to knock a part of your body against something He hit his head on the low ceiling.
- 4[transitive, often passive] hit somebody/something (of a bullet, bomb, etc. or a person using them) to reach and touch a person or thing suddenly and with force The town was hit by bombs again last night. He was hit by a sniper. ball
- 5[transitive] hit something (+ adv./prep.) to bring a bat, etc. against a ball and push it away with force She hit the ball too hard and it went out of the court. We've hit our ball over the fence!
- 6[transitive] hit something (sport) to score points by hitting a ball to hit a home run have bad effect
- 7[transitive, intransitive] hit (somebody/something) to have a bad effect on someone or something The tax increases will certainly hit the poor. His death didn't really hit me at first. Rural areas have been worst hit by the strike. Spain was one of the hardest hit countries. A tornado hit on Tuesday night.
- 8[transitive, intransitive] hit (somebody/something) to attack someone or something We hit the enemy when they least expected it. reach
- 9[transitive] hit something to reach a place Follow this footpath and you'll eventually hit the road. The President hits town tomorrow.
- 10[transitive] hit something to reach a particular level Temperatures hit 100° yesterday. The dollar hit a record low in trading today. problem/difficulty
- 11[transitive] hit something (informal) to experience something difficult or unpleasant We seem to have hit a problem. Everything was going well but then we hit trouble. suddenly realize
- 12[transitive] hit somebody (informal) to come suddenly into your mind I couldn't remember where I'd seen him before, and then it suddenly hit me.
- 13[transitive] hit something (informal) to press something such as a button to operate a machine, etc. Hit the brakes! Thesaurushit
- knock
- bang
- strike
- bump
- bash
- hit to come against something with force, especially causing damage or injury:The boy was hit by a speeding car.
- knock to hit something so that it moves or breaks; to put someone or something into a particular state or position by hitting them/it:Someone had knocked a hole in the wall.
- bang to hit something in a way that makes a loud noise:The baby was banging the table with his spoon.
- strike (formal) to hit someone or something hard:The ship struck a rock.
- bump to hit someone or something accidentally:In the darkness I bumped into a chair.
- bash (informal) to hit against something very hard:I braked too late and bashed into the car in front of me.
- to knock/bang/bump/bash into somebody/something
- to knock/bang/bump/bash on something
- to hit/knock/bang/strike/bump/bash something with something
- to hit/strike the ground/floor/wall
verb jump to other results
NAmE//hɪt//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they hit he / she / it hits
past simple hit
-ing form hitting
to react in a sudden or extreme way to something unexpected that has frightened you The government pressed the panic button yesterday as the economy plunged deeper into crisis. Phrasal Verbshit backhit onhit outhit up forhit with
Check pronunciation: hit