hitch

hitch
    n 1: a period of time spent in military service [syn:
         {enlistment}, {hitch}, {term of enlistment}, {tour of
         duty}, {duty tour}, {tour}]
    2: the state of inactivity following an interruption; "the
       negotiations were in arrest"; "held them in check"; "during
       the halt he got some lunch"; "the momentary stay enabled him
       to escape the blow"; "he spent the entire stop in his seat"
       [syn: {arrest}, {check}, {halt}, {hitch}, {stay}, {stop},
       {stoppage}]
    3: an unforeseen obstacle [syn: {hang-up}, {hitch}, {rub},
       {snag}]
    4: a connection between a vehicle and the load that it pulls
    5: a knot that can be undone by pulling against the strain that
       holds it; a temporary knot
    6: any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome [syn:
       {hindrance}, {hinderance}, {hitch}, {preventive},
       {preventative}, {encumbrance}, {incumbrance}, {interference}]
    7: the uneven manner of walking that results from an injured leg
       [syn: {hitch}, {hobble}, {limp}]
    v 1: to hook or entangle; "One foot caught in the stirrup" [syn:
         {hitch}, {catch}] [ant: {unhitch}]
    2: walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury; "The old
       woman hobbles down to the store every day" [syn: {limp},
       {gimp}, {hobble}, {hitch}]
    3: jump vertically, with legs stiff and back arched; "the yung
       filly bucked" [syn: {buck}, {jerk}, {hitch}]
    4: travel by getting free rides from motorists [syn:
       {hitchhike}, {hitch}, {thumb}]
    5: connect to a vehicle: "hitch the trailer to the car"
    

Hitch \Hitch\, v. i.
   To {hitchhike}; -- mostly used in the phrase to hitch a ride;
   as, he hitched his way home; he hitched a ride home.
   [PJC]
    

Hitch \Hitch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Hitched}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Hitching}.]
   1. To hook; to catch or fasten as by a hook or a knot; to
      make fast, unite, or yoke; as, to hitch a horse, or a
      halter; hitch your wagon to a star.
      [1913 Webster +PJC]

   2. To move with hitches; as, he hitched his chair nearer.
      [1913 Webster]

   {To hitch up}.
      (a) To fasten up.
      (b) To pull or raise with a jerk; as, a sailor hitches up
          his trousers.
      (c) To attach, as a horse, to a vehicle; as, hitch up the
          gray mare. [Colloq.]
          [1913 Webster]
    

Hitch \Hitch\ (h[i^]ch), v. t. [Cf. Scot. hitch a motion by a
   jerk, and hatch, hotch, to move by jerks, also Prov. G.
   hiksen, G. hinken, to limp, hobble; or E. hiccough; or
   possibly akin to E. hook.]
   1. To become entangled or caught; to be linked or yoked; to
      unite; to cling.
      [1913 Webster]

            Atoms . . . which at length hitched together.
                                                  --South.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To move interruptedly or with halts, jerks, or steps; --
      said of something obstructed or impeded.
      [1913 Webster]

            Slides into verse, and hitches in a rhyme. --Pope.
      [1913 Webster]

            To ease themselves . . . by hitching into another
            place.                                --Fuller.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To hit the legs together in going, as horses; to
      interfere. [Eng.] --Halliwell.
    

Hitch \Hitch\, n.
   1. A catch; anything that holds, as a hook; an impediment; an
      obstacle; an entanglement.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The act of catching, as on a hook, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. A stop or sudden halt; a stoppage; an impediment; a
      temporary obstruction; an obstacle; as, a hitch in one's
      progress or utterance; a hitch in the performance.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. A sudden movement or pull; a pull up; as, the sailor gave
      his trousers a hitch.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. (Naut.) A knot or noose in a rope which can be readily
      undone; -- intended for a temporary fastening; as, a half
      hitch; a clove hitch; a timber hitch, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. (Geol.) A small dislocation of a bed or vein.
      [1913 Webster]
    

264 Moby Thesaurus words for "hitch":
      acute pain, amble, arrange a match, articulate, attach, barge,
      batten, batten down, bed, bed down, bite, block, blockade, bob,
      bolt, boring pain, bottleneck, bowl along, break, bridle, brush,
      buckle, bundle, butt, button, catch, catch a ride, charley horse,
      clasp, cleat, clip, clump, connect, continuous tenure, cordon,
      couple, cramp, cramps, crick, crux, curry, currycomb, curtain,
      darting pain, determent, deterrent, difficulty, dovetail, drag,
      drawback, drench, droop, enlistment, entanglement, fasten, feed,
      fix, flick, flip, flirt, flounce, fodder, foot, footslog,
      fulgurant pain, gait, gallop, gentle, girdle pain, give away,
      gnawing, griping, groom, halt, handicap, handle, hang-up, harness,
      hasp, hazard, hike up, hindrance, hinge, hippety-hop, hitch a ride,
      hitch rides, hitch up, hitchhike, hobble, hoick, hoist, hook,
      hook up, hop, hurdle, impediment, interference, jam, jerk, jig,
      jigger, jigget, jiggle, jog, joggle, join, join together, joint,
      joker, jolt, jump, jumping pain, kink, lancinating pain, latch,
      limp, link, litter, lock, lock step, lumber, lunge, lurch,
      make a match, make fast, make one, manage, marry, match, mate,
      milk, mince, mincing steps, mishap, miter, mortise, nail, nip,
      nuptial, objection, obstacle, obstruction, obstructive,
      one small difficulty, pace, paddle, pang, paroxysm, peg, piaffe,
      piaffer, pin, pinch, plod, pluck, prance, prick, prison term,
      problem, pull up, rabbet, rack, raise, rivet, roll, rub, rub down,
      saddle, sashay, saunter, scarf, screw, scuff, scuffle, scuttle,
      seizure, sew, shamble, sharp pain, shoot, shooting, shooting pain,
      shuffle, sidle, single-foot, skewer, skip, slink, slither, slog,
      slouch, slowness, snag, snake, snap, snatch, spasm, splice, stab,
      stabbing pain, stagger, stalk, stamp, staple, start, step, stick,
      stitch, stomp, straddle, straggle, stretch, stride, stroll,
      strolling gait, strut, stumbling block, stumbling stone, stump,
      sudden pull, swagger, swing, tack, tame, tend, tenure, term,
      thrill, throes, thumb, tie, time, tittup, toddle, toggle, tormen,
      totter, tour, train, traipse, tread, trip, trot, trouble, trudge,
      tweak, twinge, twitch, unite, unite in marriage, velocity, waddle,
      walk, wamble, water, wed, wedge, wiggle, wobble, wrench, yank,
      yerk, yoke, zipper