hit

The word “hit” means to strike someone or something, often forcefully.

“Hit” is pronounced hiht (/hɪt/ in IPA).

Here is “hit” used in a sentence: “The ball hit the window and shattered it.”

Words with a similar meaning to “hit” include pelt, thump, whack, do away with, fall upon and lay into.

The opposite of “hit” — its antonyms — are miss, block, flop and turkey.

Depending on how it is used, “hit” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “hit” comes from Old English. From Old English hittan ("to meet with, come upon"), borrowed from Old Norse hitta ("to strike, meet"), tracing back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to fall upon" or "to strike.".

“Hit” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

The two are close synonyms, both meaning to make forceful contact with someone or something. 'Strike' sounds slightly more formal or deliberate and is common in writing, while 'hit' is the everyday word in speech. 'Strike' can also imply aiming a blow, whereas 'hit' may be accidental, as in hitting your head.

'Hit' is an irregular verb whose form does not change: the past tense and past participle are both simply 'hit.' So you say 'she hits the ball' today, 'she hit the ball' yesterday, and 'she has hit the ball' already. Only the surrounding words show the change in time.

No. Its core meaning is to strike something, often forcefully, but 'hit' has many figurative uses that involve no violence at all. You can hit a target, hit the brakes, hit a high note, or hit it off with someone. Context makes clear whether real physical contact is meant.

You might say 'He hit the nail with a hammer' or 'The car hit the fence,' both showing forceful contact. Figuratively, 'The news hit her hard' shows emotional impact rather than a physical blow. The word works for deliberate blows, accidents, and figurative effects alike.