Hitch (h&ibreve;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.
Atoms . . . which at length hitched
together.
South.
2. To move interruptedly or with halts,
jerks, or steps; -- said of something obstructed or
impeded.
Slides into verse, and hitches in a
rhyme.
Pope.
To ease themselves . . . by hitching into
another place.
Fuller.
3. To hit the legs together in going, as
horses; to interfere. [Eng.] Halliwell.
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.
2. To move with hitches; as, he
hitched his chair nearer.
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.]
Hitch, n. 1. A
catch; anything that holds, as a hook; an impediment; an obstacle; an
entanglement.
2. The act of catching, as on a hook,
etc.
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.
4. A sudden movement or pull; a pull up; as,
the sailor gave his trousers a hitch.
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.
6. (Geol.) A small dislocation of a
bed or vein.
