verb | noun
hithit1 /hɪt/ verb (past tense and past participle hit, present participle hitting) 1 
to hit someone or something with your hand► hit to move your hand onto someone or something with a lot of force: The guy got mad and hit me in the face. Mom yelled at my brothers to stop hitting each other.
► strike strike means the same as hit but sounds more formal or literary: Her mother struck her so hard that she fell backward.
► punch to hit someone or something hard with your hand closed: He made a fist and I thought he was going to punch me in the nose.
► slap to hit someone with your hand open and flat: As hard as she could, she slapped him across the face.
► beat to hit someone many times so that he or she is injured: A young man is in the hospital after being attacked and beaten.
► spank to hit a child on the buttocks with your open hand as a punishment: Her father spanked her for locking her brother in the closet.
► smack smack means the same as slap, but you use it to emphasize that a short hard cracking sound is made: She smacked her boyfriend on the side of his head and told him to shut up.
2 to hit part of your body by accident► hit to accidentally move part of your body against something and hurt yourself: I hit my leg on the bed and bruised it.
► bump to hit against something by accident. You use bump when you do not hit something with very much force: It was dark, and she bumped into the table. Grandma fell and bumped her head.
► bang to hit a part of your body against something by accident. You use bang when you hit something with force and often make a noise: One icy morning she slipped and banged her head on the sidewalk.
► crack to hit a part of your body, especially your head, hard against something: He fell down the stairs and cracked his head on the railing.
► stub to hurt your toe by hitting it against something: Ouch! I stubbed my toe on the leg of the chair.
3 to hit something with a vehicle► hit if a vehicle hits something, it travels into it with force: The car hit the tree at 45 miles per hour. I think I hit a squirrel when I was driving down Garden Street.
► run into to hit something, especially something large or something that can cause damage: The garbage truck ran into the back of my mother’s car.
► collide if two vehicles or objects collide or one collides with another, they hit each other while they are moving: There was thick fog and the two ferries collided in the ocean.
► crash into to hit something hard when you are going fast, especially so that there is a loud noise and a lot of damage: The train crashed into the back of another train that was stopped at a signal.
► ram to hit something with a lot of force. Ram sometimes means that someone deliberately uses a vehicle to hit something: The car rammed into the police car, and they both went off the road. The environmental group tried to ram the whaling boat with their boat.
ANTONYMS ➔ see miss (3)4 to hit a door or window to get someone’s attention► knock to touch a door or window hard with your closed hand so that people inside will hear you: Maya opened the door before I even knocked. I knocked on the front door of the house.
► rap to knock on something with force and a loud sound: The officer rapped on the door and shouted “Police!”
► tap to gently hit your fingers or knuckles against a door or window to get someone’s attention: I heard someone tapping on my door.
► pound to knock on something many times with your fist: He woke up to the sound of someone pounding on his door.
► hammer to knock on a door or window many times, very hard and fast: Someone was hammering on the door shouting, “Get everyone out!”
verb | noun
hithit2 /hɪt/ noun 1 the act of hitting someone or something► hit an occasion when something that is aimed at something else touches it, reaches it, or damages it: The ship took a direct hit and sank.
► blow a hard hit with a hand, tool, or weapon: He aimed a blow at Joe's head, but Joe ducked to avoid it.
► drive an act of hitting a ball hard, especially in tennis, baseball, or golf: Turner hit a long drive to center.
► punch a hard hit with your hand closed: He received a punch in the face and fell to the ground.
► slap a quick hit with your hand held flat: Julia gave Roy a slap on the cheek.
► smack smack means the same as slap, but you use it to say that a short hard cracking sound is made: You’re going to get a smack in a minute!
► spanking the action of hitting a child on the buttocks with your open hand as a punishment: If you don’t stop that noise, you’ll get a spanking.
► tap an act of hitting something gently: There was a tap on the door. She felt a tap on her shoulder.
2 something that is popular and successful► hit a movie, song, or play that is very popular and successful: The song “Poker Face” was one of Lady Gaga’s early hits. ➔ GRAMMAR: Hit is often used before another noun such as “show” or “movie”: Sign up here to watch hit movies online any time.
► success something that is successful and achieves a good result: The new video game was a huge success.
► bestseller a book that a lot of people buy: Stephen King’s horror novels have been bestsellers.
► blockbuster a movie, computer game, or book that is very successful: Harry Potter was a blockbuster both as a book and a movie.
► sell-out an event for which all the tickets have been sold: The first night of the play was a sell-out.
► fad something that is popular for a short time: There was a fad at school for colored bands in the shape of different animals.