hit
/hɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /hɪt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈhit/ (ame, mw)
hit — verb
- hitpresent simple I / you / we / they
- hitshe / she / it
- hitting-ing form
1. to deliberately bring your fist, a tool, or another object against someone or so
to deliberately bring your fist, a tool, or another object against someone or something, usually with force
Felix hit the ball with a bat and it flew over the fence.
hit + object + with + instrument
Min hit the nail hard with a hammer until it went into the wood.
The elderly man hit his walking stick against the ground to get everyone's attention.
Aylin was so frustrated that she hit the table with her fist.
文法句型
hit + noun phrase
用法筆記
Irregular forms: hit — hit — hit (same in all three parts). Frequently used with the preposition 'with' to name the object used for striking.
常見錯誤
2. to strike against someone or something unexpectedly, often resulting in harm or
to strike against someone or something unexpectedly, often resulting in harm or damage
The car hit a tree on the icy road and the front was badly damaged.
vehicle + hit + object, causing damage
Trang slipped on the wet floor and hit her head on the desk corner.
A large piece of ice hit the ship's side during the storm at sea.
The cyclist hit a stone in the road and lost control of the bike.
- bump into
less forceful, often of people colliding accidentally
- crash into
implies greater force and more serious damage
- strike
more formal; used in news or official reports
文法句型
hit + noun phrase
hit + against/into + noun phrase
用法筆記
Can be used both transitively ('The ball hit the window') and intransitively with a preposition ('The ball hit against the window'). Sense 2 differs from sense 1 (STRIKE) in that it describes accidental collision or impact, not an intentional striking motion.
常見錯誤
3. to cause harm, difficulty, or suffering to someone or something
to cause harm, difficulty, or suffering to someone or something
The factory closing hit the local town hard, and many families lost their income.
[event] + hit + [place/person] + hard (adverb)
Gabriela's business was hit by the sudden rise in material costs.
passive: be hit by + [cause]
The disease has hit older people the hardest across the country.
A series of storms hit the coastal region just before the harvest season began.
- benefit
positive effect on someone or something
文法句型
hit + noun phrase
be hit by + noun phrase
用法筆記
Frequently used in the passive voice ('be hit by') and with intensifying adverbs such as 'hard', 'badly', 'the hardest'. The subject is typically an event or force, not a person — e.g. a crisis, disaster, or economic change.
4. if a sudden idea or realization hits you, it comes into your mind unexpectedly a
if a sudden idea or realization hits you, it comes into your mind unexpectedly and with force
It suddenly hit Mark that he had left his passport on the kitchen table.
it + hit + [person] + that-clause (realization)
The idea hit Lauren in the shower — she finally knew what to do.
As the teacher asked again, it hit Christopher that he had made a simple mistake.
It hit Sahil that the person next to him was the singer he admired for years.
文法句型
it hits + person + that-clause
用法筆記
The subject is almost always 'it' or an abstract noun like 'the idea' or 'the thought'. The person experiencing the realization is the object ('it hit me'). Never used in the passive voice for this sense.
常見錯誤
5. to strike a person or place using bullets, bombs, or other weapons during a conf
to strike a person or place using bullets, bombs, or other weapons during a conflict
Enemy forces hit the city with rockets several times during the night.
military: hit + [place] + with + [weapon]
The hospital was hit by a bomb and several rooms were destroyed.
passive: be hit by + [explosive]
Fighters hit the military base just before sunrise, catching the soldiers by surprise.
The car was hit by gunfire from the street above and had to stop.
文法句型
hit + noun phrase
be hit by + noun phrase
用法筆記
Often used in the passive voice ('be hit by'). This sense belongs to military or violent conflict contexts. Distinguish from sense 1 (STRIKE), which involves hand-to-hand or tool-based contact, and from sense 9 (ATTACK in the sibling chunk), which refers specifically to killing rather than attacking a target.
6. to reach a particular place or location during travel
to reach a particular place or location during travel
The driver said we would hit the main highway in about twenty minutes.
hit + [road/route] — informal arrival at a point on a journey
The train hits the station at exactly nine o'clock every morning.
By the time they hit the city centre, all the shops were already closed.
We hit heavy traffic outside London and sat in the car for an hour.
- leave
to depart from a place
文法句型
hit + noun phrase (place or position)
用法筆記
Informal — more common in spoken English than formal writing. The object is typically a physical place (town, road, station) or a point on a path. Distinguish from sibling sense 7 (REACH in chunk verb_b2), which describes achieving goals or targets rather than physically arriving somewhere.
常見錯誤
7. when a number, amount, or goal arrives at a specific point that was aimed for —
when a number, amount, or goal arrives at a specific point that was aimed for — for instance, sales hitting one million units or temperatures hitting a record high
Sales hit the target of one million units before the end of the year.
hit + target/number collocation
Temperatures in the desert are expected to hit 48 degrees this weekend.
hit + temperature/measurement
The singer's new album hit number one on the charts in twelve countries.
Tyler felt proud when his basketball team hit fifty wins for the season.
- miss
to fail to reach a target or level
- fall short of
to not quite reach a particular level
文法句型
hit + number/level/target
用法筆記
Commonly used with numerical values, targets, and milestones. Unlike 'reach', which works for physical destinations, 'hit' emphasises the exact point or number attained and has a slightly more informal tone.
常見錯誤
8. to immediately like someone and start a good relationship when you first meet —
to immediately like someone and start a good relationship when you first meet — always used in the fixed phrase 'hit it off (with someone)'
Jin and Reema hit it off straight away at the summer internship orientation.
hit it off with [person] — fixed phrase
I was nervous before meeting Camila's parents, but we hit it off over lunch.
hit it off over [activity/meal]
The two guitarists hit it off during the recording session and became close friends.
Charlotte and Élise hit it off at the book club and still meet weekly.
- rub (someone) the wrong way
to annoy someone from the start, the opposite of getting along
文法句型
hit it off (with + person)
hit it off + immediately/straight away
用法筆記
Only used in the fixed expression 'hit it off (with someone)'. The pronoun 'it' and the particle 'off' are essential and cannot be removed. The phrase is informal and common in British and American English alike.
常見錯誤
9. to murder someone deliberately as part of a planned crime, especially a professi
to murder someone deliberately as part of a planned crime, especially a professional killing ordered by a criminal group
The novel begins with a hired killer who is paid to hit a politician.
criminal slang: hit [person] = murder deliberately
In the crime series, the gang plans to hit a witness before the trial starts.
Paloma refused to give evidence because she feared the gang would hit her family.
The detective believed the victim was hit by a rival gang over a territory dispute.
- murder
the neutral term, suitable in any register
- assassinate
specifically refers to killing a public figure or important person
文法句型
hit + person (target of murder)
用法筆記
This is criminal slang. In neutral or formal English, use 'murder' or 'kill' instead. The sense is commonly found in crime fiction, news reports about organised crime, and film dialogue.
10. the cricket term for gaining runs by striking the ball and then running between
the cricket term for gaining runs by striking the ball and then running between the wickets
The opening batsman hit 75 runs before being caught at mid-off.
cricket: hit + number of runs
Soraya hit a six over the boundary in the final over of the match.
cricket: hit + shot type (six, boundary)
When a player hits a century, the crowd stands up to show their appreciation.
The captain hit a boundary to win the match in the final over.
- score
more general term used across many sports
文法句型
hit + number of runs
hit + a century/six/boundary
用法筆記
Used primarily in cricket, a sport popular in the UK, Australia, India, and other Commonwealth countries. A 'century' is 100 runs, a 'six' is a shot that clears the boundary on the full.
11. in baseball, to strike the ball with the bat in a way that produces a particular
in baseball, to strike the ball with the bat in a way that produces a particular type of play, such as a home run, a double, or a single
The batter hit a home run that landed in the upper deck of the stadium.
baseball: hit a home run / hit a double / hit a single
With two runners on base, Ziad hit a double that brought them both home.
Gabriel hit a single in the ninth inning and then stole second base.
Sari hit a line drive that went past the shortstop into the outfield.
- bat
the verb meaning to take one's turn as the batter
文法句型
hit + a home run/double/single
hit + the ball + direction
用法筆記
Baseball-specific terminology. A 'home run' is a hit that allows the batter to run around all four bases, a 'double' lets them reach second base, and a 'single' lets them reach first base.
12. in baseball, to achieve a specific batting average over a season or career — a s
in baseball, to achieve a specific batting average over a season or career — a statistic that measures a player's hitting success rate by dividing their hits by their official at-bats
The star player hit .330 for the season and won the batting title.
baseball: hit + batting average (decimal number)
Dahlia hit .275 in her rookie year and was named to the All-Star team.
Hitting .300 over a full season means a batter is performing at an excellent level.
Over ten seasons the second baseman hit .290 and helped his team reach the playoffs.
文法句型
hit + decimal batting average
用法筆記
Batting averages are written as three-digit decimals (e.g. .300). A .300 average means the player gets a hit in 30% of their official at-bats, which is considered very good in professional baseball.
hit — noun
- hitsingular
- hitsplural
1. something such as a film, song, or performer that a very large number of people
something such as a film, song, or performer that a very large number of people enjoy and regard as excellent
The singer's new song became a huge hit across Europe and Asia within weeks.
collocation: huge hit
Yuna's first novel was such a hit that the publisher ordered a second printing.
pattern: such a hit that...
That video game was a surprise hit among both children and adults.
Élise's new ice cream flavour became an instant hit with local customers.
The action film was a massive hit in theatres across Latin America last summer.
- success
more general — a hit is always a success, but a success may not be a widely loved hit
- blockbuster
more informal, used for very big entertainment successes, especially films
- bestseller
used specifically for books or products that sell in very large numbers
- flop
a complete failure, the opposite of a hit in entertainment or business
文法句型
hit + among [group]
hit + with [audience]
用法筆記
Commonly describes entertainment or media products such as films, songs, books, or games. Often followed by 'with' or 'among' to name the audience that likes it.
常見錯誤
2. a single instance of a computer requesting a page or file from a website, counte
a single instance of a computer requesting a page or file from a website, counted to measure how many people visit that site
The company's blog received over ten thousand hits in its first week online.
collocation: receive + hits
Website hits increased sharply after the advertisement appeared on television.
Marta checks daily hits on her cooking blog to see which recipes readers like most.
Lakshmi's travel blog gets about two thousand hits every day from readers worldwide.
The news website recorded a record number of hits during the election coverage.
文法句型
receive + hits
get + hits
number + hits
用法筆記
Countable noun used mainly in web analytics. Often paired with numbers or quantifiers such as 'thousands of', 'millions of'. Not the same as 'unique visitors' — one person can generate multiple hits.
常見錯誤
3. the action of one thing striking another, or an instance where a moving object m
the action of one thing striking another, or an instance where a moving object makes forceful contact with a person or thing
A hard hit from a falling branch left a deep mark on Tunde's car roof.
The boxer took a hard hit to the jaw but stayed on his feet.
collocation: take a hit
Indra felt a sharp hit on her shoulder when someone pushed past on the bus.
Dahlia received a painful hit on the arm from a tennis ball during practice.
The car roof had several hits from hail that fell during the storm.
文法句型
hit + to [body part]
take + a + hit
hit + on [surface]
用法筆記
Frequently used with body parts ('hit to the head', 'hit on the arm') or surfaces ('hit on the car door'). The phrase 'take a hit' can also be used figuratively outside this sense — see EFFECT verb sense.
4. in baseball, a successful swing of the bat that allows the batter to run safely
in baseball, a successful swing of the bat that allows the batter to run safely to at least first base
Maeve's hit sent the ball into the gap between the two outfield players.
The batter needed just one more hit to reach a career total of two thousand.
collocation: one more hit
Yael scored the winning run after a well-timed hit down the third-base line.
Inês's clean single in the ninth inning was her third hit of the game.
Daniel's two hits helped his team win the championship final last weekend.
- strikeout
when the batter fails to hit the ball and is out
文法句型
get + a + hit
hit + number + hits
用法筆記
Only used in baseball contexts. A 'single' is a hit that reaches first base only; a 'double', 'triple', or 'home run' are also types of hits. Not used in other bat-and-ball sports such as cricket.
常見錯誤
5. a moment when a thrown, fired, or dropped object lands exactly on the target it
a moment when a thrown, fired, or dropped object lands exactly on the target it was aimed at
The archer smiled when her arrow made a direct hit on the target centre.
collocation: direct hit
Ramón's clean throw was a hit that knocked down every bottle at the fair.
collocation: clean hit
The bomb scored a direct hit on the enemy's fuel storage building during the raid.
Each player gets three throws, and a clean hit wins a prize at the fair.
The soldier's missile scored a direct hit on the advancing tank column.
- direct hit
emphasises that the target was struck exactly, often used for bombs or missiles
- strike
used in bowling and military contexts, similar meaning but slightly more formal
- miss
when the thrown or fired object fails to reach the target
文法句型
make + a + hit
score + a + hit
direct + hit
用法筆記
Common with 'direct hit' to emphasise that the target was struck exactly. Used in military, sports (archery, darts), and informal games contexts.
6. a killing arranged in advance and done by a hired criminal, usually for payment
a killing arranged in advance and done by a hired criminal, usually for payment from a third party
The detective suspected the crime was a professional hit ordered by a rival gang.
collocation: professional hit
The trial revealed details of a planned hit stopped just hours before it could happen.
Cyrus was arrested for helping to arrange a hit on a former business partner.
The police believe the shooting was a contract hit arranged by a crime boss.
Organised crime groups sometimes use outsiders to carry out hits for them.
- assassination
usually of a political or public figure, more formal, not necessarily for payment
- contract killing
more explicit about the payment arrangement; less informal in tone
文法句型
carry out + a + hit
order + a + hit
professional + hit
用法筆記
Informal slang from organised crime contexts. More specific than 'murder' — implies payment and planning by a third party. Common in crime fiction, news reports about gang violence, and legal contexts.