Library / English Dictionary

HITCH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The uneven manner of walking that results from an injured leg

Synonyms:

hitch; hobble; limp

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("hitch" is a kind of...):

gait (a person's manner of walking)

Derivation:

hitch (walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome

Synonyms:

encumbrance; hinderance; hindrance; hitch; incumbrance; interference; preventative; preventive

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("hitch" is a kind of...):

impediment; impedimenta; obstructer; obstruction; obstructor (any structure that makes progress difficult)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hitch"):

clog (any object that acts as a hindrance or obstruction)

speed bump (a hindrance to speeding created by a crosswise ridge in the surface of a roadway)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A knot that can be undone by pulling against the strain that holds it; a temporary knot

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("hitch" is a kind of...):

knot (any of various fastenings formed by looping and tying a rope (or cord) upon itself or to another rope or to another object)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hitch"):

Blackwall hitch (a simple hitch used for temporarily attaching a line to a hook)

cat's-paw (a hitch in the middle of rope that has two eyes into which tackle can be hooked)

rolling hitch (a hitch for fastening a line to a spar or another rope)

becket bend; sheet bend; weaver's hitch; weaver's knot (a hitch used for temporarily tying a rope to the middle of another rope (or to an eye))

timber hitch (a hitch used to secure a rope to a log or spar; often supplemented by a half hitch)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A connection between a vehicle and the load that it pulls

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("hitch" is a kind of...):

connecter; connection; connective; connector; connexion (an instrumentality that connects)

Derivation:

hitch (connect to a vehicle:)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An unforeseen obstacle

Synonyms:

hang-up; hitch; rub; snag

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("hitch" is a kind of...):

obstacle; obstruction (something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The state of inactivity following an interruption

Example:

he spent the entire stop in his seat

Synonyms:

arrest; check; halt; hitch; stay; stop; stoppage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("hitch" is a kind of...):

inaction; inactiveness; inactivity (the state of being inactive)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hitch"):

countercheck (a check that restrains another check)

logjam (any stoppage attributable to unusual activity)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A period of time spent in military service

Synonyms:

duty tour; enlistment; hitch; term of enlistment; tour; tour of duty

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("hitch" is a kind of...):

period; period of time; time period (an amount of time)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

To hook or entangle

Example:

One foot caught in the stirrup

Synonyms:

catch; hitch

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "hitch" is one way to...):

attach (cause to be attached)

Verb group:

catch (cause to become accidentally or suddenly caught, ensnared, or entangled)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hitch"):

snag (catch on a snag)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Antonym:

unhitch (unfasten or release from or as if from a hitch)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Connect to a vehicle:

Example:

hitch the trailer to the car

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "hitch" is one way to...):

connect; link; link up; tie (connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

hitch (a connection between a vehicle and the load that it pulls)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Jump vertically, with legs stiff and back arched

Example:

the yung filly bucked

Synonyms:

buck; hitch; jerk

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "hitch" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 4

Meaning:

Walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury

Example:

The old woman hobbles down to the store every day

Synonyms:

gimp; hitch; hobble; limp

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "hitch" is one way to...):

walk (use one's feet to advance; advance by steps)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

hitch (the uneven manner of walking that results from an injured leg)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Travel by getting free rides from motorists

Synonyms:

hitch; hitchhike; thumb

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "hitch" is one way to...):

ride (be carried or travel on or in a vehicle)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Credits

 Context examples: 

Calling to Maud to cease lowering, I went on deck and made the watch-tackle fast to the mast with a rolling hitch.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He fought with his fear again, overcame it, hitched the pack still farther over on his left shoulder, and lurched on down the slope.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

“Yes,” said one, “that's Flint, sure enough. J. F., and a score below, with a clove hitch to it; so he done ever.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Well, he did look so good-humoured and so jolly that it didn't seem half so hard to refuse him as it did poor Dr. Seward; so I said, as lightly as I could, that I did not know anything of hitching, and that I wasn't broken to harness at all yet.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

She learned to pack a horse as well as a man,—a task to break the heart and the pride of any city-dweller, and she knew how to throw the hitch best suited for any particular kind of pack.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Would you think it likely, now, that your squire would prove a liberal-minded one in case of help—him being in a clove hitch, as you remark?

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

You're a good lad, Jim, he said; and you're all in a clove hitch, ain't you?

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)