hitch Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a period of time spent in military service
    tour; term of enlistment; enlistment; duty tour; tour of duty.
  2. noun the state of inactivity following an interruption
    halt; stoppage; stop; arrest; stay; check.
    • the negotiations were in arrest
    • held them in check
    • during the halt he got some lunch
    • the momentary stay enabled him to escape the blow
    • he spent the entire stop in his seat
  3. noun an unforeseen obstacle
    rub; hang-up; snag.
  4. noun a connection between a vehicle and the load that it pulls
  5. noun a knot that can be undone by pulling against the strain that holds it; a temporary knot
  6. noun any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome
    incumbrance; preventative; encumbrance; interference; hindrance; preventive; hinderance.
  7. noun the uneven manner of walking that results from an injured leg
    hobble; limp.
  8. verb to hook or entangle
    catch.
    • One foot caught in the stirrup
  9. verb walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury
    hobble; limp; gimp.
    • The old woman hobbles down to the store every day
  10. verb jump vertically, with legs stiff and back arched
    buck; jerk.
    • the yung filly bucked
  11. verb travel by getting free rides from motorists
    hitchhike; thumb.
  12. verb connect to a vehicle: "hitch the trailer to the car"

WordNet

Hitch transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. Scot. hitch a motion by a jerk, and hatch, hotch, to move by jerks, also Prov. G. hiksen, G. hinken, to limp, hobble; or E. hiccough; or possibly akin to E. hook.
Definitions
  1. To become entangled or caught; to be linked or yoked; to unite; to cling.
    Atoms . . . which at length hitched together. South.
  2. To move interruptedly or with halts, jerks, or steps; -- said of something obstructed or impeded.
    Slides into verse, and hitches in a rhyme. Pope.
    To ease themselves . . . by hitching into another place. Fuller.
  3. To hit the legs together in going, as horses; to interfere. Eng. Halliwell.
Hitch transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Hitched ; present participle & verbal noun Hitching
Definitions
  1. To hook; to catch or fasten as by a hook or a knot; to make fast, unite, or yoke; as, to hitch a horse, or a halter.
  2. To move with hitches; as, he hitched his chair nearer.
Hitch noun
Definitions
  1. A catch; anything that holds, as a hook; an impediment; an obstacle; an entanglement.
  2. The act of catching, as on a hook, etc.
  3. A stop or sudden halt; a stoppage; an impediment; a temporary obstruction; an obstacle; as, a hitch in one's progress or utterance; a hitch in the performance.
  4. A sudden movement or pull; a pull up; as, the sailor gave his trousers a hitch.
  5. (Naut.) A knot or noose in a rope which can be readily undone; -- intended for a temporary fastening; as, a half hitch; a clove hitch; a timber hitch, etc.
  6. (Geol.) A small dislocation of a bed or vein.

Webster 1913