Hit

How to spell hit

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce hit

What does hit mean?

1. verbTo strike someone or something with force.
2. nounA widely popular and commercially successful song, film, or product.
3. nounA single request or visit to a website, counted in traffic statistics.

Hit in a sentence

• verb

  The toddler tried to hit the drum with a wooden spoon.

• noun

  The band's first single became a surprise hit across Europe.

• noun

  The marketing report showed a sharp rise in each daily hit to the homepage.

• verb

  A stray ball can hit a parked car and crack the windscreen.

• noun

  The new dessert was such a hit that the cafe added it to the permanent menu.

• noun

  Every hit on the server is logged with a timestamp and address.

Where does hit come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

Hit comes from late Old English hyttan, which was reinforced or borrowed from the Old Norse verb hitta, meaning 'to come upon, meet with, or find'. The earliest English sense was not violent at all: it meant to light upon something or reach a target, much as we still say an arrow 'hits' the mark. From that idea of reaching a target, the meaning broadened to striking a blow, since a successful strike is one that reaches what it aims at. The Norse word survives today in Scandinavian languages, where 'hitta' still simply means to find or meet. Because the word is short and the consonants are crisp, it has almost no spelling trap; its real interest lies in the surprising original meaning of finding rather than striking.

How the word is built

• hit (a single, unanalysable Old English/Old Norse root meaning 'to strike or come upon')