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to move your hand or an object onto the surface of something so that it touches it, usually with force:
Teachers are not allowed to hit their pupils.
This type of glass won't shatter no matter how hard you hit it.
She hit her thumb with the hammer.
They were going about 60 kilometres an hour when their car hit the tree.
One journalist was hit in the leg by a stray bullet.
That new shelf in the bathroom is too low - I just hit my head on it.
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to have an unpleasant or negative effect on a person or thing:
Production has been badly hit by the strike.
Demand for transatlantic flights has been hit by fears of terrorist attacks.
That's when it hit me that my life would never be the same again.
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to shoot at or bomb a place or person, causing damage or injury:
Two schools were hit during the air raid.
He was hit in the neck by a bullet from a sniper.
Try to hit the middle of the target.
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to arrive at a place or position:
If we turn left at the next junction, we should hit the main road after five miles or so.
Our profits hit an all-time high of $20 million last year.
I just can't hit (= sing) those high notes like I used to.
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to like someone and become friendly immediately:
I didn't really hit it off with his friends.
Jake and Sue hit it off immediately.
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to kill someone:
Three drug dealers were hit in the city over the weekend.
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a thing or person that is very popular or successful:
The Beatles had a string of number-one hits in the 1960s.
Your cake was a real hit at the party - everyone commented.
They've just released an album of their greatest hits (= their most successful songs).
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a request to use a web page on the internet that is then counted to calculate the number of people looking at the page:
Our page had 243 hits this week.
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the act of hitting something or someone, or an occasion when something or someone hits you:
She gave him a hit on the head which knocked him flying.
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an occasion when something that has been thrown, dropped, shot, etc. at a place or object reaches that place or object:
The rebel headquarters took a direct hit from a bomb during the attack.
I scored a hit on my second shot.
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an act of murder:
He was the victim of a mafia hit.
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to touch quickly and forcefully, with the hand or an object:
Don’t hit your little brother!
They were throwing rocks, and one of the rocks hit a window and broke it.
She must have fallen asleep, and the car hit a tree.
He’s so tall he keeps hitting his head when he goes through a doorway.
One journalist was hit in the leg by a stray bullet.
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to have an unpleasant or negative effect on a person or thing:
Commuters are going to be hit hard by the rise in gasoline prices.
It just hit me that once she leaves, I may never see her again.
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to arrive at a place, position, or state:
The company’s profits hit an all-time high last year.
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to make a thrown baseball move within the playing area by touching it with a bat (= stick):
Rodriguez hit a high fly ball that was caught by the shortstop.
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someone or something that is very popular or successful:
The musical is one of the biggest hits on Broadway.
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a base hit:
Jason had three hits in four times at bat.
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the act of hitting someone or something, or an occasion when someone or something is hit:
The hospital took a direct hit from a bomb.
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to have an unpleasant or negative effect on someone or something :
Rising fuel costs hit industrial and rural areas worst.
Companies tend to be slow to lay off employees when hard times hit, but they are quicker to cease hiring.
be hit by sth Oil firms have been hit by a 10% increase in petroleum tax.
be hit with sth A tractor made in the United States and shipped to Chile is hit with $25,000 in tariffs and duties.
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to reach a particular level or amount, especially a very high or very low one:
Sales hit $300 million within the first three years.
hit an all-time/a record high/low Last week property shares hit a record low.
The company is very capable of hitting its targets well ahead of schedule.
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to experience a difficult situation or stop making progress with something:
Talks between the bosses and the union yesterday hit a major setback.
The project began smoothly, but then we began to hit some problems.
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to become available for people to buy:
Although the toys are only just now hitting the market, a huge advertising campaign has been in place for several months.
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to be badly affected by something:
Car makers were among the hardest hit as consumers bought fewer vehicles last month.
The area has been hit hard by job losses in textiles and furniture.
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to reach a point at which no more progress can be made:
The energy bill is expected to hit a wall in the Senate, where Republicans have enough votes to block it.
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to reach an extremely low level:
The U.S. economy is beginning to show signs that it is hitting bottom and that a turnaround could get underway later this year.
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to become very successful:
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to suddenly stop being successful or stop happening:
The main worry is that the economy might hit the buffers.
Their plans to become one of the world's largest telecoms firms has hit the buffers.
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to immediately work hard and successfully at a new activity:
Companies often expect staff to hit the ground running.
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to receive a lot of attention in news reports:
He hit the headlines when he sold a million shares at £5.80 a share.
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to achieve financial success:
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to be a financial failure:
The question mark is whether the company is going to hit the wall.
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a thing or person that is very popular or successful:
a hit with sb/sth The Mexican restaurant is a huge hit with locals, who swear by the Mexican pizzas and fried bread dishes.
Plans call for doubling both the workforce and production if the vehicles prove a hit.
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a visit to a particular website on the internet, which is then counted to calculate the number of people who see the website:
attract/get/receive hits The site typically gets an average of about 400,000 hits a day.
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something that has an unpleasant or negative effect on a person or thing:
a hit to sth Investors are worried about the direct hit to consumer confidence.
For some businesses, the financial hit was substantial.
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to be badly affected by a difficult situation or problem:
Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the nation's economic activity, so when consumers take a hit, so does the economy.
The company recently took a hit to the tune of $4 million in health insurance costs.
