Synonyms and antonyms

hit

hit/ˈhɪt/

verbnounCore

hit has 29 distinct synonyms spread across 15 of its 23 senses. Each sense below keeps its own list, because a synonym belongs to a meaning and not to a word: swapping one sense's substitute into another sense's sentence is how a thesaurus makes writing worse. Its one recorded opposite is miss.

29
Distinct synonyms: 1
Antonym: 23 of 23
Senses with a relation

Counts are distinct word forms across every sense. A synonym that appears under three senses is counted once here and shown three times below, under each sense it belongs to.

hit as a verb

16 of 16 senses carry a relation

1.
cause to move by striking
“hit a ball”
SynonymsNo synonym recorded for this sense.
Related
Broaderpropel
Narrowerplay foul cannon clap ground out toe shank pitch fly snap
2.
hit against; come into sudden contact with
“The car hit a tree”
Synonymsstrike impinge on run into collide with
Antonymsmiss
Related
Broadertouch
Narrowerstub ping spang rear-end broadside connect spat thud bottom bottom out
3.
deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument
“He hit her hard in the face”
SynonymsNo synonym recorded for this sense.
Related
Broadertouch
Narrowerclap slam lam into kick swipe smite hook swat sock bean
4.
reach a destination, either real or abstract
“We hit Detroit by noon”
Synonymsreach make attain arrive at gain
Related
Narrowercatch up scale access bottom out top out summit top make find culminate
5.
affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely
“We were hit by really bad weather”
Synonymsstrike
Related
Broaderaffect
6.
hit with a missile from a weapon
Synonymsshoot pip
Related
Broaderinjure
Narrowergun down grass kneecap
7.
encounter by chance
“I stumbled across a long-lost cousin last night in a restaurant”
Synonymsstumble
Related
Broadercome by
8.
gain points in a game
“The home team scored many times”
Synonymsscore tally rack up
Related
Broadergain
Narrowerpar shoot convert homer kick eagle hole up ace walk equalize
9.
cause to experience suddenly
“Panic struck me”
Synonymsstrike come to
10.
make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target
“The Germans struck Poland on Sept. 1, 1939”
Synonymsstrike
Related
Broaderattack
Narrowerslice chop stroke retaliate
11.
kill intentionally and with premeditation
“The mafia boss ordered his enemies murdered”
Synonymsmurder slay dispatch bump off off polish off remove
Related
Broaderkill
Narrowerburke execute
12.
drive something violently into a location
“he hit his fist on the table”
Synonymsstrike
Related
Broadermove
Narrowersmash
13.
reach a point in time, or a certain state or level
“The thermometer hit 100 degrees”
Synonymsreach attain
Related
Broaderarrive
Narrowermax out break even
14.
produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instruments
“The pianist strikes a middle C”
Synonymsstrike
Related
Broadertouch
15.
hit the intended target or goal
SynonymsNo synonym recorded for this sense.
Related
Broadersucceed
16.
pay unsolicited and usually unwanted sexual attention to
“He tries to hit on women in bars”
SynonymsNo synonym recorded for this sense.
Related
Broaderapproach

hit as a noun

7 of 7 senses carry a relation

1.
(baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball)
“he came all the way around on Williams' hit”
SynonymsNo synonym recorded for this sense.
Related
Broaderfeat
Narrowerbase hit
2.
the act of contacting one thing with another
“repeated hitting raised a large bruise”
Synonymshitting striking
Related
Broadertouch
Narrowercontusion crash bunt fly grounder header scorcher plunk
3.
a conspicuous success
“that song was his first hit and marked the beginning of his career”
Synonymssmash smasher strike bang
Related
Broadersuccess
Narrowerblockbuster sleeper
4.
(physics) a brief event in which two or more bodies come together
“the collision of the particles resulted in an exchange of energy and a change of direction”
Synonymscollision
Related
Broadercontact
5.
a dose of a narcotic drug
SynonymsNo synonym recorded for this sense.
Related
Broaderdose
6.
a murder carried out by an underworld syndicate
“it has all the earmarks of a Mafia hit”
SynonymsNo synonym recorded for this sense.
Related
Broadermurder
7.
a connection made via the internet to another website
“WordNet gets many hits from users worldwide”
SynonymsNo synonym recorded for this sense.
Related
Broaderjoining

Questions about hit

What is another word for hit?: Across its 23 senses, hit has 29 distinct synonyms: strike, impinge on, run into, collide with, reach, make, attain, arrive at, and others. Each belongs to a specific meaning, listed on this page under the sense it serves.
What is the opposite of hit?: The recorded antonym is miss. Opposites are sense-specific too: this page shows which meaning each one is the opposite of, because a word rarely has a single opposite that holds for all of its senses.
Why are the synonyms for hit split into groups?: Because hit carries 23 recorded senses and each has its own set of substitutes. A single flat list would put words from unrelated meanings side by side with nothing to tell them apart, which is exactly how a writer picks the wrong one. The grouping comes from WordNet's synsets, not from an editorial judgement of ours.
Where do the synonyms for hit come from?: From Princeton University's WordNet, a lexical database maintained by lexicographers since 1985. A synonym here means a word form that shares a synset with this word — a set of forms interchangeable in one recorded context. Nothing on this page is generated by a language model.

Other views of hit

Synonyms, antonyms and the broader and narrower relations for hit come from Princeton University’s WordNet. Full sources and licences.

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Questions about hit

What is another word for hit?

Across its 23 senses, hit has 29 distinct synonyms: strike, impinge on, run into, collide with, reach, make, attain, arrive at, and others. Each belongs to a specific meaning, listed on this page under the sense it serves.

What is the opposite of hit?

The recorded antonym is miss. Opposites are sense-specific too: this page shows which meaning each one is the opposite of, because a word rarely has a single opposite that holds for all of its senses.

Why are the synonyms for hit split into groups?

Because hit carries 23 recorded senses and each has its own set of substitutes. A single flat list would put words from unrelated meanings side by side with nothing to tell them apart, which is exactly how a writer picks the wrong one. The grouping comes from WordNet's synsets, not from an editorial judgement of ours.

Where do the synonyms for hit come from?

From Princeton University's WordNet, a lexical database maintained by lexicographers since 1985. A synonym here means a word form that shares a synset with this word — a set of forms interchangeable in one recorded context. Nothing on this page is generated by a language model.

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hit

hit as a verb

hit as a noun

Questions about hit

Other views of hit

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hit

hit as a verb

hit as a noun

Questions about hit

Other views of hit