hitchhiking

hitchhiking — verb

IPA/ˈhɪtʃ.haɪk/
KK[hˈɪtʃhˌaɪkɪŋ]IPA/ˈhɪtʃ.haɪk/
  • hitchhikingpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • hitchhikings3rd person singular
  • hitchhikinging-ing form
  • hitchhikingedpast simple

1. to stand at the roadside and signal to passing drivers that you would like a fre

1.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to stand at the roadside and signal to passing drivers that you would like a free lift to wherever they are heading

Example

During her summer break, Marta hitchhiked from Madrid to Lisbon with a friend.

hitchhiked + from [city] + to [city] — route pattern

When his bicycle got a flat tyre, Dario decided to hitchhike to the nearest town.

hitchhike + to [destination] — goal pattern

Common collocations
  • hitchhike across [region]
  • hitchhike through [area]
  • hitchhike from [place] to [place]
  • hitchhike home
  • try to hitchhike
Synonyms
  • thumb a lift

    more informal, refers to the hand signal used

  • hitch a ride

    equally common, slightly more casual in tone

  • ask for a lift

    broader — can mean asking friends or acquaintances, not just strangers

Grammar Patterns

hitchhike + to [destination]

hitchhike + across/through [area]

hitchhike + from [place] + to [place]

Usage Note

Intransitive only — you cannot 'hitchhike someone'. The driver who stops gives you a lift; you are not the direct object of the verb.

Common Mistakes

I hitchhiked a driver to give me a ride.
I hitchhiked to the coast.
'hitchhike' is intransitive and never takes a person as its object.
He hitchhiked a ride to London.
He hitchhiked to London.
the idea of a ride is already built into the verb, so 'a ride' is redundant.

hitchhiking — noun

IPA/ˈhɪtʃhaɪkɪŋ/
KK[hˈɪtʃhˌaɪkɪŋ]IPA/ˈhɪtʃhaɪkɪŋ/

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Thumb a lift' and 'hitch a ride' are both informal phrasal verbs for the same action — signalling to passing cars while standing at the roadside. 'Thumb a lift' specifically evokes the hand gesture (raised thumb), which makes it more vivid and colloquial. 'Hitch a ride' is slightly broader: you can hitch a ride from a friend as well as from a stranger, though the roadside context is assumed. 'Ask for a lift' is the most neutral and general — it does not specify the method and can include asking someone you already know. Example: 'Femi thumbed a lift outside the petrol station' feels more specific than 'Femi asked for a lift', which could mean he called a friend or walked up to someone's car door.

thumb a lifthitch a rideask for a lift

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • go hitchhiking
  • a way of hitchhiking
  • hitchhiking trip

Prepositions

Etymology

Middle EnglishAmerican EnglishEnglish

The verb 'hitchhike' was formed in the early 1920s in American English by combining 'hitch' (to fasten or attach, from Middle English 'hichchen') with 'hike' (to walk energetically, from dialectal English). The idea was 'to attach oneself to a moving vehicle while walking' — originally meaning to hook a ride on a train, then shifting to cars. The gerund 'hitchhiking' quickly became the standard label for the activity.

First known use

1921

1921, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1