hit

v. & n.
—v. (hitting; past and past part. hit)
1 tr. a strike with a blow or a missile. b (of a moving body) strike (the plane hit the ground). c reach (a target, a person, etc.) with a directed missile (hit the window with the ball).
2 tr. cause to suffer or affect adversely; wound (the loss hit him hard).
3 intr. (often foll. by at, against, upon) direct a blow.
4 tr. (often foll. by against, on) knock (a part of the body) (hit his head on the door-frame).
5 tr. light upon; get at (a thing aimed at) (he's hit the truth at last; tried to hit the right tone in his apology) (see hit on).
6 tr. colloq. a encounter (hit a snag). b arrive at (hit an all-time low; hit the town). c indulge in, esp. liquor etc. (hit the bottle).
7 tr. esp. US sl. rob or kill.
8 tr. occur forcefully to (the seriousness of the situation only hit him later).
9 tr. Sport a propel (a ball etc.) with a bat etc. to score runs or points. b score (runs etc.) in this way. c (usu. foll. by for) strike (a ball or a bowler) for so many runs (hit him for six).
10 tr. represent exactly.
—n.
1 a a blow; a stroke. b a collision.
2 a shot etc. that hits its target.
3 colloq. a popular success in entertainment.
4 a stroke of sarcasm, wit, etc.
5 a stroke of good luck.
6 esp. US sl. a a murder or other violent crime. b a drug injection etc.
7 a successful attempt.
Phrases and idioms:
hit and run cause (accidental or wilful) damage and escape or leave the scene before being discovered. hit-and-run attrib.adj. relating to or (of a person) committing an act of this kind. hit back retaliate. hit below the belt
1 esp. Boxing give a foul blow.
2 treat or behave unfairly. hit for six Brit. defeat in argument. hit the hay (or sack) colloq. go to bed. hit the headlines see HEADLINE. hit home make a salutary impression. hit it off (often foll. by with, together) agree or be congenial. hit list sl. a list of prospective victims. hit man (pl. hit men) sl. a hired assassin. hit the nail on the head state the truth exactly. hit on (or upon) find (what is sought), esp. by chance. hit-or-miss aimed or done carelessly. hit out deal vigorous physical or verbal blows (hit out at her enemies). hit-out n. Austral. sl. a brisk gallop. hit parade colloq. a list of the current best-selling records of popular music. hit the road (US trail) sl. depart. hit the roof see ROOF. hit up Cricket score (runs) energetically. hit wicket Cricket be out by striking the wicket with the bat etc. make a hit (usu. foll. by with) be successful or popular.
Derivatives:
hitter n.
Etymology: ME f. OE hittan f. ON hitta meet with, of unkn. orig.