hit
I.hit1 S1 W2 /hɪt/ BrE AmE verb (past tense and past participle hit, present participle hitting)
[Date: 1000-1100; Language: Old Norse; Origin: hitta 'to find, hit']
1. TOUCH SOMEBODY/SOMETHING HARD [transitive] to touch someone or something quickly and hard with your hand, a stick etc:
He raised the hammer and hit the bell.
hit somebody/something with something
The robbers hit him over the head with a baseball bat.
2. CRASH INTO SOMETHING [transitive] to move into something or someone quickly and with force:
The tanks exploded as the plane hit the ground.
He was hit by a car.
3. HURT YOURSELF [transitive] to move a part of your body quickly against something accidentally, causing pain SYN bang:
The ceiling’s low, so be careful you don’t hit your head.
hit something on/against something
She slipped and hit her head on the sidewalk.
4. SPORT [transitive]
a) if you hit a ball or other object, you make it move forward quickly by hitting it with a ↑bat, stick etc SYN strike:
Hit the ball as hard as you can.
b) to get points by hitting a ball in a game such as ↑baseball or ↑cricket:
Last year, Griffey hit 49 home runs.
5. PRESS [transitive] informal to press a part in a machine, car, etc to make it work:
Maria hit the brakes just in time.
6. ATTACK [transitive] to attack something or wound someone with a bomb, bullet etc:
Our ship was badly hit and sank within minutes.
A second shot hit her in the back.
The bomb failed to hit its target.
7. AFFECT BADLY [intransitive and transitive] if something bad hits a place or a person, it suddenly happens and affects people badly:
The village has been hit by a devastating drought.
Hurricane Louis is expected to hit at the weekend.
be badly/severely/hard hit
The company has been hard hit by the drop in consumer confidence.
The south of the country is the worst hit by the recession.
8. HAVE PROBLEMS [transitive] to experience trouble, problems etc
hit a snag/problems/a bad patch etc
My father hit a bad patch, he had to sell the house.
9. REACH A LEVEL/NUMBER [transitive] to reach a particular level or number:
Sales have hit the 1 million mark.
hit a peak/an all-time high etc
Earnings hit a peak in the early 1980s.
hit rock-bottom/an all-time low etc
Oil prices have hit rock-bottom.
10. REALIZE [transitive] if a fact hits you, you suddenly realize its importance and feel surprised or shocked:
It’s impossible to pinpoint a moment when it hit me that I was ‘a success’.
He was gone before they knew what had hit them (=realized what had happened).
11. SMELL/SIGHT ETC [transitive] if a smell or sight hits you, you suddenly smell or see it:
The smell of stale smoke hit him as he entered.
12. ARRIVE [transitive] informal to arrive at a place:
They hit the main road two kilometres further on.
hit town American English:
I’ll look for work as soon as I hit town.
13. hit the road/trail informal to begin a journey
14. hit the shops/streets if a product hits the shops, it becomes available to buy:
I managed to get a copy of the book before it hit the shops.
15. hit the headlines to be reported widely on television, in newspapers etc:
The couple hit the headlines last year when their relationship broke down.
16. hit the bottle informal to start drinking too much alcohol regularly:
After his marriage failed, he hit the bottle big time.
17. hit the dirt/the deck informal to fall to the ground in order to avoid something dangerous:
My first instinct was to hit the dirt.
18. hit a (brick) wall informal to suddenly not be able to make any progress:
I felt I’d hit a wall with my playing.
19. hit the buffers/skids informal if a plan, project etc hits the buffers, it fails:
Croft’s comeback hit the skids yesterday when she lost in the quarter-finals.
20. hit somebody when they are down informal to upset or harm someone when they are already defeated
21. hit somebody where it hurts informal to do something that you know will upset someone in the most damaging way:
Hit your husband where it hurts – in his wallet!
22. hit it off (with somebody) informal if two people hit it off, they like each other as soon as they meet:
I knew you’d hit it off with Mike.
23. hit the big time (also hit it big American English) informal to suddenly become very famous, successful, and rich:
The 25-year-old painter hopes to hit it big in New York.
24. hit the ground running to start doing something successfully without any delay:
Law graduates are expected to hit the ground running.
25. hit the jackpot
a) to win a lot of money
b) to have a big success:
Owens hit the jackpot in his first professional game with the Cowboys.
26. hit the nail on the head informal used to say that what someone has said is exactly right:
You’ve hit the nail on the head there, David.
27. hit home
a) if a remark, criticism etc about you hits home, you realize that it is true:
Graham didn’t reply, but she could see her words had hit home.
b) if a blow or kick hits home, it hits the thing it is aimed at
28. hit the spot informal to have exactly the good effect that you wanted, especially when you are hungry or thirsty
29. hit the roof/ceiling informal to be very angry:
Ranieri returned, saw the mess, and hit the roof.
30. hit the sack (also hit the hay American English) informal to go to bed
⇨ the shit hits the fan at ↑shit2(17), ⇨ hit/strike paydirt at ↑paydirt
• • •
THESAURUS
 to hit someone
▪ hit to hit someone quickly and hard with your hand, a stick etc: He hit him hard in the stomach. | I don’t like to see people hitting a dog.
▪ beat to hit someone deliberately many times, especially very hard: The girl had been beaten to death. | He was beating the donkey with a stick.
▪ strike written to hit someone with your hand or a weapon. Strike is more formal than hit and is mainly used in written English: Her husband struck her twice across the face. | Police say that the man had been struck on the head.
▪ punch to hit someone hard with your closed hand, especially in a fight: I punched him on the nose. | She was screaming and punching him with her fists.
▪ thump /θʌmp/ informal to punch someone very hard: Sometimes I just want to thump him.
▪ beat somebody up to hurt someone badly in a violent attack, by hitting them many times: If I tell the police, they'll beat me up. | He had been beaten up and tortured with lighted cigarettes.
▪ slap to hit someone with your open hand, especially because you are angry with them: They had a big row and she ended up slapping him.
▪ spank (also smack especially British English) to hit someone, especially a child, with your open hand in order to punish them: Should a parent ever smack a child? | I don’t agree with smacking. | In those days, children were spanked if they behaved badly.
to hit something
▪ hit: Jack hit the ball and it flew over the fence
▪ knock to hit a door or window with your closed hand in order to attract the attention of the people inside: Someone was knocking on the door. | I knocked loudly but no one came.
▪ strike written to hit a surface. Strike is more formal than hit and is mainly used in written English: The ball struck the side of the goal.
▪ whack /wæk/ informal to hit something very hard: Edmonds whacked the ball into the air.
▪ bash to hit something hard, especially in a way that causes damage: The police had to bash the door down to get in.
▪ tap to gently hit something with your fingers, often in order to attract someone’s attention: I tapped him on the shoulder. | I heard someone tapping on the window.
▪ rap to knock quickly or hit something several times: He rapped the table with his pen to bring the meeting to order. | Two police officers rapped on the door at 7 o'clock in the morning.
▪ bang to suddenly hit something hard, in a way that makes a loud noise: Her father banged his fist down on the table angrily. | The door suddenly banged shut.
▪ pound written to hit something many times with a lot of force: I could hear the sea pounding on the rocks. | She pounded on the door and shouted wildly.
▪ hammer written to hit something quickly many times making a loud continuous noise: The rain was hammering on the roof. | A crowd of people were outside hammering on the door angrily.
to hit something accidentally
▪ hit: I’ve got a bad bruise where I hit my leg against the table. | The car hit a tree.
▪ bump to hit a part of your body against something, especially because you do not see or notice it: Careful you don’t bump your head – the ceiling’s very low.
▪ bang/bash to hit something hard, so that you hurt yourself or damage something: He banged into the car in front. | I bashed my knee climbing over a gate. | She fell and bashed her chin on the ground.
▪ stub to hit your toe against something and hurt it: I stubbed my toe on the piano leg.
hit back phrasal verb
to attack or criticize a person or group that has attacked or criticized you SYN retaliate
hit back at
The actress hit back at claims that she had threatened a member of staff.
hit back with
United were a goal down, but hit back with an equalizer.
hit back by doing something
He hit back by calling his critics ‘lazy’.
hit on somebody/something phrasal verb
1. (also hit upon something) to have an idea or discover something suddenly or unexpectedly SYN come up with:
Then we hit on the idea of asking viewers to donate money over the Net.
2. American English informal to talk to someone in a way that shows you are sexually attracted to them:
Dave has hit on most of the women in the department.
hit out phrasal verb
to try to hit someone:
When he felt someone grab him, he hit out wildly.
hit out at somebody/something phrasal verb
(also hit out against somebody/something) to express strong disapproval of someone or something SYN attack:
The bishop hit out at the government’s policy on the homeless.
hit somebody up for something phrasal verb American English spoken
to ask someone for money:
Did he hit you up for cash again?
hit somebody with something phrasal verb informal
1. to tell someone something interesting, exciting, or shocking:
The next morning, Steve hit me with the truth.
2. American English to punish or try to harm someone by doing something that will cause problems for them:
The next day, we found they’d hit us with a lawsuit.
II.hit2 S3 W3 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1. SUCCESSFUL something such as a film, play, song etc that is very popular and successful
a hit single/show/record etc
the hit musical ‘Phantom of the Opera’
a big/smash/number 1 etc hit
the Beatles’ greatest hits
Which band had a hit with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’?
be a hit with somebody (=be liked by them)
It’s hoped the new museum will be a big hit with families.
2. HIT SOMETHING an occasion when something that is aimed at something else touches it, reaches it, or damages it:
Our ship took a direct hit and sank.
3. COMPUTER
a) an occasion when someone visits a website:
The site had 2,000 hits in the first week.
b) a result of a computer search, especially on the Internet:
thousands of irrelevant hits
4. take a hit to be badly affected in some way:
The region's economy will take a hit if the airbase is closed.
5. informal a feeling of pleasure obtained from taking an illegal drug
6. informal a murder that has been arranged to happen
⇨ ↑hit man
• • •
THESAURUS
something that is popular
▪ bestseller a book that a lot of people buy: His prize-winning book ‘A Year in Provence’ became an international bestseller.
▪ blockbuster a film that a lot of people watch, especially an exciting film: a Hollywood blockbuster | a blockbuster movie
▪ hit something such as a song, show, or film which is very popular and successful: The band played all their old hits. | The film was a box-office hit (=a lot of people went to see it at the cinema). | She stars in ABC’s hit show ‘Desperate Housewives’.
▪ sell-out a concert, sports event etc which so many people want to see that all the tickets are sold: The concert was a sell-out. | the band’s sell-out tour of the US
▪ cult movie/band/figure etc a film, band, person etc that has become very popular and fashionable with a particular group of people: a cult TV programme
▪ craze something that suddenly becomes popular, so that a lot of people do it, buy it etc: the latest dance craze that has been sweeping the US | the craze for ultra expensive designer jeans
▪ fad informal something that is very popular for a short time – used about something that you disapprove of, which you do not think will last for very long: Most diets are just fads. | I think it’s a passing fad.
hithu| ◎ | [hit] | | ※ | danh từ | | | ■ | đòn, cú đánh trúng (đấm, bắn, ném) | | | ☆ | a clever hit | | | một đòn hay | | | ☆ | three hits and five misses | | | ba đòn trúng năm đòn hụt | | | ■ | việc thành công; việc đạt kết quả; việc may mắn | | | ☆ | the new play is quite a hit | | | bản kịch mới rất thành công | | | ■ | lời chỉ trích cay độc, nhận xét gay gắt | | | ☆ | that was a hit at me | | | câu đó nhằm chỉ trích tôi đấy | | ※ | ngoại động từ | | | ■ | đánh, đấm trúng, bắn trúng, ném trúng | | | ☆ | hit hard!; hit out! | | | đánh mạnh vào | | | ☆ | to hit someone on the head | | | đánh trúng đầu ai | | | ■ | va phải, vấp phải, va trúng | | | ☆ | to hit one's head against (on) a door | | | va đầu vào cửa | | | ■ | (nghĩa bóng) chạm nọc, xúc phạm đến, làm tổn thương, làm đau khổ (về tình cảm...) | | | ☆ | to be hard hit | | | bị đòn nặng; bị đánh trúng; (nghĩa bóng) bị xúc phạm nặng nề; bị chạm nọc, bị đau khổ | | | ■ | tìm ra, vớ được | | | ☆ | to hit the right path | | | tìm ra con đường đi đúng | | | ■ | hợp với, đúng với | | | ☆ | to hit someone's fancy | | | hợp với (đúng với) sở thích của ai | | | ■ | (từ Mỹ,nghĩa Mỹ) đạt tới, đạt được, tới | | | ■ | (từ Mỹ,nghĩa Mỹ) mê đắm, đam mê | | | ☆ | to hit the bottle | | | đam mê rượu chè | | ※ | nội động từ | | | ■ | (+ at) nhằm đánh | | | ■ | (+ against, upon) vấp phải, va trúng | | | ■ | (+ on, upon) tìm ra, vớ được | | | ☆ | to hit upon a plan | | | tìm ra một kế hoạch | | | 〆 | to hit off | | | ✓ | nhại đúng như hệt, lặp lại đúng như in | | | ✓ | đánh tới tấp; đấm phải, đấm trái túi bụi | | | 〆 | to hit below the belt | | | ✓ | (thể dục,thể thao) đánh bụng dưới, đánh sai luật (quyền Anh) | | | ✓ | (nghĩa bóng) chơi không chính đáng, chơi gian lận, chơi xấu | | | 〆 | to hit it off with somebody | | | ✓ | đồng ý với ai, ăn ý với ai, tâm đầu ý hợp với ai | | | 〆 | to hit it off together | | | ✓ | ăn ý với nhau, tâm đầu ý hợp với nhau | | | 〆 | to hit it | | | 〆 | to hit the right nail on the head | | | ✓ | đoán trúng, nói đúng | | | 〆 | to hit the spot | | | ✓ | thoả mãn điều đang cần | | | 〆 | to hit the high spot | | | ✓ | chỉ bàn những vần đề chính (trong một cuộc thảo luận) | | | 〆 | to hit the silk | | | ✓ | (xem) silk | | | 〆 | to hit the trail (pike, road, breeze) | | | ✓ | (từ Mỹ,nghĩa Mỹ), (từ lóng) ra đi, lên đường | | | ✓ | đi chơi, đi du lịch | | | 〆 | to hit the ceiling | | | ✓ | nổi trận lôi đình, nổi cơn tam bành | | | 〆 | to hit the deck | | | ✓ | rơi xuống đất | | | ✓ | sẵn sàng hành động | | | 〆 | to hit sb for six | | | ✓ | nện cho ai một trận ra trò | | | 〆 | to hit the hay | | | ✓ | đi ngủ | | | 〆 | to hit the headlines | | | ✓ | được phổ biến rộng rãi | | | 〆 | to hit home | | | ✓ | đánh trúng đích, thấu cáy | | | 〆 | to hit sb in the eye | | | ✓ | rất rõ ràng đối với ai | | | 〆 | to hit the jackpot | | | ✓ | trúng mánh, vô mánh | | | 〆 | to hit a man when he's down | | | ✓ | đánh kẻ ngã ngựa | | | 〆 | to hit the mark | | | ✓ | thành công | | | 〆 | to hit a nerve | | | ✓ | gợi lại nỗi đau buồn | | | 〆 | not to know what hit one | | | ✓ | bối rối, lúng túng |
| | ◎ | [hit] | | 〆 | saying & slang | | | ■ | (See a hit) |
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