Hit

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /hɪt/

Definitions

1. To strike someone or something with force, or to reach or affect a target
2. To come into contact with something quickly and forcefully, or to achieve success or popularity, especially in entertainment or business
3. To deliver a blow or impact against a surface or person, or to encounter or suffer an undesirable event or outcome

Etymology: The verb "hit" is an ancient, plain word with a surprisingly unsettled past. Its closest relatives in other Germanic languages mean "to meet" or "to find" rather than "to strike": Swedish "hitta" and Dutch "hitten" still carry that sense of coming upon something. The link is that to hit a thing is to arrive at it, so the sense of striking grew out of the older idea of encountering. Dutch "hitten" keeps both meanings alive side by side, which shows how close they once were. Some scholars also connect the word to a family of terms for wooden mallets and hammers, such as Dutch "hei" and German "Heie," suggesting that striking was tied to the tool used to strike. This link is probable rather than proven, so it remains a suggestion instead of a settled fact. Further back, the root is traced to a Proto-Indo-European form meaning "this, here," the same root that gives Dutch "het," meaning "it." The word's ancestry therefore runs from a pointing word to an act of meeting, and finally to a blow.

Synonyms: strike, bump, impact, collide, smash

Antonyms: miss, avoid, escape, dodge, evade