What does "hit" mean?
A blow; a punch; a striking against; the collision of one body against another; the stroke that touches anything.
Hit
/hɪt/ adj, name, noun, pron, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, pron, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A blow; a punch; a striking against; the collision of one body against another; the stroke that touches anything.
- Grammar: hit is listed as adj, name, noun, pron, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: smash, strike, strike, access.
- Useful contrasts: No, Oops, Wrong.
- Usage evidence: It is easier to hit on people on the Internet than in the street.
How to use "hit"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hit" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hit" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hit" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hit" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "hit" is acting as adj, name, noun, pron, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "smash" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "hit", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A blow; a punch; a striking against; the collision of one body against another; the stroke that touches anything.
"So he the fam'd Cilician fencer prais'd, / And, at each hit, with wonder seem'd amaz'd."
- 2 Acronym of high-intensity interval training. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 3 (baseball) when a batter strikes a pitched ball into fair territory and arrives safely on base (without an error or a fielder's choice being made by the defense) wordnet
- 4 Something very successful, such as a song, film, or video game, that receives widespread recognition and acclaim.
"Marie Taglioni was another hit for Her Majesty's Theatre last season, and will be a hit again this season[…]"
- 5 Acronym of high-intensity training. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
Show 24 more definitions
- 6 a conspicuous success wordnet
- 7 A blow; a calamitous or damaging occurrence. figuratively
"His reputation took a hit when the new information came to light."
- 8 Initialism of health information technology. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 9 the act of contacting one thing with another wordnet
- 10 An attack on a location, person or people.
- 11 Initialism of hyperspectral imaging technique. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 12 a connection made via the internet to another website wordnet
- 13 A collision of a projectile with the target.
"But signalman Bridges was never to answer driver Gimbert's desperate question. A deafening, massive blast blew the wagon to shreds, the 44 high-explosive bombs exploding like simultaneous hits from the aircraft they should have been dropped from. The station was instantly reduced to bits of debris, and the line to a huge crater."
- 14 Acronym of human intelligence task abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 15 a murder carried out by an underworld syndicate wordnet
- 16 A collision of a projectile with the target.; In the game of Battleship, a correct guess at where one's opponent ship is.
- 17 Abbreviation of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. abbreviation, alt-of
- 18 a dose of a narcotic drug wordnet
- 19 A match found by searching a computer system or search engine Internet
- 20 Abbreviation of herd immunity threshold. abbreviation, alt-of
- 21 (physics) a brief event in which two or more bodies come together wordnet
- 22 A measured visit to a web site, a request for a single file from a web server. Internet
"My site received twice as many hits after being listed in a search engine."
- 23 An approximately correct answer in a test set.
- 24 The complete play, when the batter reaches base without the benefit of a walk, error, or fielder’s choice.
"The catcher got a hit to lead off the fifth."
- 25 A dose of an illegal or addictive drug. colloquial
"Where am I going to get my next hit?"
- 26 A premeditated murder done for criminal or political purposes.
"The questions that have always haunted the family — who ordered the hit, and why, and who in London might have known — remain unanswered."
- 27 A peculiarly apt expression or turn of thought; a phrase which hits the mark. dated
"a happy hit"
- 28 A move that throws one of the opponent's men back to the entering point.
- 29 A game won after the adversary has removed some of his men. It counts for less than a gammon.
Verb
- 1 To strike.; To administer a blow to, directly or with a weapon or missile. physical, transitive
"One boy hit the other."
- 2 pay unsolicited and usually unwanted sexual attention to wordnet
- 3 To strike.; To come into contact with forcefully and suddenly. physical, transitive
"The ball hit the fence."
- 4 make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target wordnet
- 5 To strike.; To strike against something. intransitive, physical
Show 35 more definitions
- 6 hit with a missile from a weapon wordnet
- 7 To strike.; To activate a button or key by pressing and releasing it. physical, transitive
"Hit the Enter key to continue."
- 8 hit the intended target or goal wordnet
- 9 To strike.; To kill a person, usually on the instructions of a third party. physical, slang, transitive
"Hit him tonight and throw the body in the river."
- 10 affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely wordnet
- 11 To strike.; To attack, especially amphibiously. physical, transitive
"If intelligence had been what it should have been, I don't think we'd ever have hit that island."
- 12 produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instruments wordnet
- 13 To strike.; To affect someone, as if dealing a blow to that person. ambitransitive, figuratively, physical
"Their coffee really hits the spot."
- 14 hit against; come into sudden contact with wordnet
- 15 To manage to touch (a target) in the right place. transitive
"I hit the jackpot."
- 16 deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument wordnet
- 17 To switch on or switch off (lights). colloquial, transitive
"Somebody's been here! Hit the lights!"
- 18 cause to move by striking wordnet
- 19 To commence playing. informal, transitive
"I'd love to hear your band play. Hit it boys!"
- 20 reach a point in time, or a certain state or level wordnet
- 21 To briefly visit. colloquial, transitive
"We hit the grocery store on the way to the park."
- 22 reach a destination, either real or abstract wordnet
- 23 To encounter an obstacle or other difficulty. informal, transitive
"You'll hit some nasty thunderstorms if you descend too late."
- 24 drive something violently into a location wordnet
- 25 To attain, to achieve.; To reach or achieve. informal, transitive
"The movie hits theaters in December."
- 26 cause to experience suddenly wordnet
- 27 To attain, to achieve.; To meet or reach what was aimed at or desired; to succeed, often by luck. intransitive
"And oft it hits / Where hope is coldest and despair most fits."
- 28 encounter by chance wordnet
- 29 To attain, to achieve.; To guess; to light upon or discover.
"Thou hast hit it."
- 30 kill intentionally and with premeditation wordnet
- 31 To affect negatively. transitive
"The economy was hit by a recession. The hurricane hit his fishing business hard."
- 32 To attack. figuratively
"I have to say this, he hit my hands. Nobody has ever hit my hands. I’ve never heard of this one. Look at those hands. Are they small hands?"
- 33 To make a play.; In blackjack, to deal a card to. transitive
"Hit me."
- 34 To make a play.; To come up to bat. intransitive
"Jones hit for the pitcher."
- 35 To make a play.; To take up, or replace by a piece belonging to the opposing player; said of a single unprotected piece on a point.
- 36 To use; to connect to. transitive
"The external web servers hit DBSRV7, but the internal web server hits DBSRV3."
- 37 To have sex with. US, slang, transitive
"I'd hit that!"
- 38 To inhale an amount of smoke from a narcotic substance, particularly marijuana. US, slang, transitive
"Tastes like fruit when you hit it; got to have bread to get it."
- 39 (of an exercise) to affect, to work a body part. transitive
"This is another great exercise which hits the long head."
- 40 To work out. transitive
"With that said, the group hitting their legs just once a week still made gains."
Adjective
- 1 Very successful. not-comparable
"The band played their hit song to the delight of the fans."
Pronoun
- 1 It. dialectal
"But how hit was to come about didn't appear."
Proper Noun
- 1 A city in Iraq.
Example
"It is easier to hit on people on the Internet than in the street."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hit"?
Common synonyms include: smash, strike, strike, access, accomplish, accomplish.
How do you use "hit" in a sentence?
It is easier to hit on people on the Internet than in the street.
How do you pronounce "hit"?
Pronounced /hɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English hitten (“to hit, strike, make contact with”), from Old English hittan (“to meet with, come upon, fall in with”), from Old Norse hitta (“to strike, meet”), from Proto-Germanic *hittijaną (“to come upon, find”), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- (“to fall; fall upon; hit; cut; hew”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian hitte (“to meet”), Dutch hitten (“to hit, encounter”), Danish hitte (“to find”), Faroese, Icelandic, Swedish hitta (“to meet”), Norwegian Nynorsk hitta, hitte (“to meet; to find”), Latin caedō (“to kill”), Albanian qit (“to hit, throw, pull out, release”). Probably also related to Dutch hei (“mallet”), German Heie (“wooden hammer, mallet”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English hit (“it”), from Old English hit (“it”), from Proto-Germanic *hit (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- (“this, here”). Cognate with Dutch het (“it”). More at it; also note 'it.
Etymology 3
From Ottoman Turkish هیت (Hit) and Arabic هيت (Hit).