Word Study
hitch
CIDE DICTIONARY
hitch, v. t. [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.].
- To become entangled or caught; to be linked or yoked; to unite; to cling. [1913 Webster]"Atoms . . . which at length hitched together." [1913 Webster]
- To move interruptedly or with halts, jerks, or steps; -- said of something obstructed or impeded. [1913 Webster]"Slides into verse, and hitches in a rhyme." [1913 Webster]"To ease themselves . . . by hitching into another place." [1913 Webster]
- To hit the legs together in going, as horses; to interfere. Halliwell.
hitch, v. i.
To hitchhike; -- mostly used in the phrase to hitch a ride; as, he hitched his way home; he hitched a ride home. [PJC]
hitch, v. t.
- 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; hitch your wagon to a star. [1913 Webster]
- To move with hitches; as, he hitched his chair nearer. [1913 Webster]
hitch, n.
- A catch; anything that holds, as a hook; an impediment; an obstacle; an entanglement. [1913 Webster]
- The act of catching, as on a hook, etc. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- A sudden movement or pull; a pull up; as, the sailor gave his trousers a hitch. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- A small dislocation of a bed or vein. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
hitch, v. & n.
--v.
1 a tr. fasten with a loop, hook, etc.; tether (hitched the horse to the cart). b intr. (often foll. by in, on to, etc.) become fastened in this way (the rod hitched in to the bracket).
2 tr. move (a thing) with a jerk; shift slightly (hitched the pillow to a comfortable position).
3 colloq. a intr. = HITCHHIKE. b tr. obtain (a lift) by hitchhiking.
--n.
1 an impediment; a temporary obstacle.
2 an abrupt pull or push; a jerk.
3 a noose or knot of various kinds.
4 colloq. a free ride in a vehicle.
5 US sl. a period of service.
--v.
1 a tr. fasten with a loop, hook, etc.; tether (hitched the horse to the cart). b intr. (often foll. by in, on to, etc.) become fastened in this way (the rod hitched in to the bracket).
2 tr. move (a thing) with a jerk; shift slightly (hitched the pillow to a comfortable position).
3 colloq. a intr. = HITCHHIKE. b tr. obtain (a lift) by hitchhiking.
--n.
1 an impediment; a temporary obstacle.
2 an abrupt pull or push; a jerk.
3 a noose or knot of various kinds.
4 colloq. a free ride in a vehicle.
5 US sl. a period of service.
Idiom
get hitched colloq. marry. half hitch a knot formed by passing the end of a rope round its standing part and then through the bight. hitch up lift (esp. clothing) with a jerk. hitch one's wagon to a star make use of powers higher than one's own.
Derivative
hitcher n.
Etymology
ME: orig. uncert.
THESAURUS
hitch
acute pain, amble, arrange a match, articulate, attach, barge, batten, batten down, bed, bed down, bite, block, blockade, bob, bolt, boring pain, bottleneck, bowl along, break, bridle, brush, buckle, bundle, butt, button, catch, catch a ride, charley horse, clasp, cleat, clip, clump, connect, continuous tenure, cordon, couple, cramp, cramps, crick, crux, curry, currycomb, curtain, darting pain, determent, deterrent, difficulty, dovetail, drag, drawback, drench, droop, enlistment, entanglement, fasten, feed, fix, flick, flip, flirt, flounce, fodder, foot, footslog, fulgurant pain, gait, gallop, gentle, girdle pain, give away, gnawing, griping, groom, halt, handicap, handle, hang-up, harness, hasp, hazard, hike up, hindrance, hinge, hippety-hop, hitch a ride, hitch rides, hitch up, hitchhike, hobble, hoick, hoist, hook, hook up, hop, hurdle, impediment, interference, jam, jerk, jig, jigger, jigget, jiggle, jog, joggle, join, join together, joint, joker, jolt, jump, jumping pain, kink, lancinating pain, latch, limp, link, litter, lock, lock step, lumber, lunge, lurch, make a match, make fast, make one, manage, marry, match, mate, milk, mince, mincing steps, mishap, miter, mortise, nail, nip, nuptial, objection, obstacle, obstruction, obstructive, one small difficulty, pace, paddle, pang, paroxysm, peg, piaffe, piaffer, pin, pinch, plod, pluck, prance, prick, prison term, problem, pull up, rabbet, rack, raise, rivet, roll, rub, rub down, saddle, sashay, saunter, scarf, screw, scuff, scuffle, scuttle, seizure, sew, shamble, sharp pain, shoot, shooting, shooting pain, shuffle, sidle, single-foot, skewer, skip, slink, slither, slog, slouch, slowness, snag, snake, snap, snatch, spasm, splice, stab, stabbing pain, stagger, stalk, stamp, staple, start, step, stick, stitch, stomp, straddle, straggle, stretch, stride, stroll, strolling gait, strut, stumbling block, stumbling stone, stump, sudden pull, swagger, swing, tack, tame, tend, tenure, term, thrill, throes, thumb, tie, time, tittup, toddle, toggle, tormen, totter, tour, train, traipse, tread, trip, trot, trouble, trudge, tweak, twinge, twitch, unite, unite in marriage, velocity, waddle, walk, wamble, water, wed, wedge, wiggle, wobble, wrench, yank, yerk, yoke, zipperROGET THESAURUS
hitch
Junction
VB join, unite, conjoin, connect, associate, put together, lay together, clap together, hang together, lump together, hold together, piece together, tack together, fix together, bind up together together, embody, reembody, roll into one, attach, fix, affix, saddle on, fasten, bind, secure, clinch, twist, make fast, tie, pinion, string, strap, sew, lace, tat, stitch, tack, knit, button, buckle, hitch, lash, truss, bandage, braid, splice, swathe, gird, tether, moor, picket, harness, chain, fetter, lock, latch, belay, brace, hook, grapple, leash, couple, accouple, link, yoke, bracket, marry, bridge over, span, braze, pin, nail, bolt, hasp, clasp, clamp, crimp, screw, rivet, impact, solder, set, weld together, fuse together, wedge, rabbet, mortise, miter, jam, dovetail, enchase, graft, ingraft, inosculate, entwine, intwine, interlink, interlace, intertwine, intertwist, interweave, entangle, twine round, belay, tighten, trice up, screw up, be joined, hang together, hold together, cohere.Difficulty
N difficulty, hardness, impracticability, tough work, hard work, uphill work, hard task, Herculean task, Augean task, task of Sisyphus, Sisyphean labor, tough job, teaser, rasper, dead lift, dilemma, embarrassment, deadlock, perplexity, intricacy, entanglement, complexity, cross fire, awkwardness, delicacy, ticklish card to play, knot, Gordian knot, dignus vindice nodus, net, meshes, maze, coil, crooked path, involvement, nice point, delicate point, subtle point, knotty point, vexed question, vexata quaestio, poser, puzzle, paradox, hard nut to crack, nut to crack, bone to pick, crux, pons asinorum, where the shoe pinches, nonplus, quandary, strait, pass, pinch, pretty pass, stress, brunt, critical situation, crisis, trial, rub, emergency, exigency, scramble, scrape, hobble, slough, quagmire, hot water, hornet's nest, sea of troubles, peck of troubles, pretty kettle of fish, pickle, stew, imbroglio, mess, ado, false position, set fast, stand, standstill, deadlock, dead set, fix, horns of a dilemma, cul de sac, hitch, stumbling block, crab, curmudgeon, difficult, not easy, hard, tough, troublesome, toilsome, irksome, operose, laborious, onerous, arduous, Herculean, formidable, sooner said than done, more easily said than done, easier said than done, difficult to deal with, hard to deal with, ill-conditioned, crabbed, crabby, not to be handled with kid gloves, not made with rose water, awkward, unwieldy, unmanageable, intractable, stubborn, perverse, refractory, plaguy, trying, thorny, rugged, knotted, knotty, invious, pathless, trackless, labyrinthine, intricate, complicated, impracticable, not feasible, desperate, embarrassing, perplexing, delicate, ticklish, critical, beset with difficulties, full of difficulties, surrounded by difficulties, entangled by difficulties, encompassed with difficulties, under a difficulty, in a box, in difficulty, in hot water, in the suds, in a cleft stick, in a fix, in the wrong box, in a scrape, in deep water, in a fine pickle, in extremis, between two stools, between Scylla and Charybdis, surrounded by shoals, surrounded by breakers, surrounded by quicksands, at cross purposes, not out of the wood, reduced to straits, hard pressed, sorely pressed, run hard, pinched, put to it, straitened, hard up, hard put to it, hard set, put to one's shifts, puzzled, at a loss, at the end of one's tether, at the end of one's rope, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, at a standstill, graveled, nonplused, nonplussed, stranded, aground, stuck fast, set fast, up a tree, at bay, aux abois, driven into a corner, driven from pillar to post, driven to extremity, driven to one's wit's end, driven to the wall, au bout de son Latin, out of one's depth, thrown out, accomplished with difficulty, hard-fought, hard-earned, with difficulty, with much ado, barely, hardly, uphill, against the stream, against the grain, d rebours, invita Minerva, in the teeth of, at a pinch, upon a pinch, at long odds, against long odds, ay there's the rub, hic labor hoc opus, things are come to a pretty pass, ab inconvenienti, ad astra per aspera, acun chemin de fleurs ne conduit a la gloire.Hindrance
N hindrance, prevention, preclusion, obstruction, stoppage, embolus, embolism, infarct, interruption, interception, interclusion, hindrance, impedition, retardment, retardation, embarrassment, oppilation, coarctation, stricture, restriction, restraint, inhibition, blockade, interference, interposition, obtrusion, discouragement, discountenance, impediment, let, obstacle, obstruction, knot, knag, check, hitch, contretemps, screw loose, grit in the oil, bar, stile, barrier, turnstile, turnpike, gate, portcullis, beaver dam, trocha, barricade, wall, dead wall, sea wall, levee breakwater, groyne, bulkhead, block, buffer, stopper, boom, dam, weir, burrock, drawback, objection, stumbling-block, stumbling-stone, lion in the path, snag, snags and sawyers, encumbrance, incumbrance, clog, skid, shoe, spoke, drag, drag chain, drag weight, stay, stop, preventive, prophylactic, load, burden, fardel, onus, millstone round one's neck, impedimenta, dead weight, lumber, pack, nightmare, Ephialtes, incubus, old man of the sea, remora, difficulty, insuperable, obstacle, estoppel, ill wind, head wind, trammel, tether, hold back, counterpoise, damper, wet blanket, hinderer, marplot, killjoy, party pooper, party crasher, interloper, trail of a red herring, opponent, hindering, obstructive, obstruent, impeditive, impedient, intercipient, prophylactic, impedimentary, in the way of, unfavorable, onerous, burdensome, cumbrous, cumbersome, obtrusive, hindered, windbound, waterlogged, heavy laden, hard pressed, unassisted &c (assist), single-handed, alone, deserted, occurrent nubes.Pendency
VB be pendent, hang, depend, swing, dangle, swag, daggle, flap, trail, flow, beetle, suspend, hang, sling, hook up, hitch, fasten to, append.Agitation
VB be agitated, shake, tremble, tremble like an aspen leaf, quiver, quaver, quake, shiver, twitter, twire, writhe, toss, shuffle, tumble, stagger, bob, reel, sway, wag, waggle, wriggle, wriggle like an eel, dance, stumble, shamble, flounder, totter, flounce, flop, curvet, prance, cavort, squirm, throb, pulsate, beat, palpitate, go pitapat, flutter, flitter, flicker, bicker, bustle, ferment, effervesce, foam, boil, boil over, bubble up, simmer, toss about, jump about, jump like a parched pea, shake like an aspen leaf, shake to its center, shake to its foundations, be the sport of the winds and waves, reel to and fro like a drunken man, move from post to pillar and from pillar to post, drive from post to pillar and from pillar to post, keep between hawk and buzzard, agitate, shake, convulse, toss, tumble, bandy, wield, brandish, flap, flourish, whisk, jerk, hitch, jolt, jog, joggle, jostle, buffet, hustle, disturb, stir, shake up, churn, jounce, wallop, whip, vellicate.For further exploring for "hitch" in Webster Dictionary Online