hit

verb (hits, hitting, hit)

1》 direct a blow at with one's hand or a tool or weapon.

    ↘accidentally strike (part of one's body) against something.

    ↘(of a moving object or body) come into contact with (someone or something stationary) quickly and forcefully.

2》 strike (a target).

3》 cause harm or distress to.

    ↘(hit out) make a strongly worded criticism or attack.

    ↘informal, chiefly N. Amer. attack and rob or kill.

4》 informal reach or arrive at.

    ↘be suddenly and vividly realized by: it hit her that I wanted to settle down here.

    ↘(hit on) discover or think of, especially by chance.

    ↘(hit on) N. Amer. informal make sexual advances towards.

5》 propel (a ball) with a bat, racket, etc.

    ↘score (runs or points) in this way.

noun

1》 an instance of hitting or being hit.

2》 informal, chiefly N. Amer. a murder carried out by a criminal organization.

3》 a successful and popular film, pop record, etc.

4》 Computing an instance of identifying an item of data which matches the requirements of a search.

    ↘an instance of a particular website being accessed by a user.

5》 informal a dose of a narcotic drug.

6》 Baseball short for base hit.

Phrases

hit-and-miss (also hit-or-miss) haphazard; random.

↘as likely to be unsuccessful as successful.

hit-and-run denoting a road accident from which the perpetrator escapes before being discovered and without lending assistance.

hit someone below the belt

1》 Boxing give one's opponent an illegal low blow.

2》 behave unfairly towards someone.

hit someone for six Brit. affect someone very severely. [with allusion to a forceful hit that scores six runs in cricket.]

hit the ground running informal proceed at a fast pace with enthusiasm.

hit it off informal be naturally friendly or well suited.

hit the nail on the head find exactly the right answer.

hit the road (or N. Amer. trail) informal leave or set out on a journey.

Derivatives

hitter noun

Origin

OE hittan, from ON hitta 'come upon, meet with'.