Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Hit

Hit , pronoun

Italian [Obsolete] — Chaucer

Hit , third person singular present

third person singular present of Hide, contracted from hideth. [Obsolete] — Chaucer

Hit , transitive verb

[Old English hitten, hutten, of Scand. origin; compare Danish hitte to hit, find, Swedish & Icelandic hitta.]

1.
To reach with a stroke or blow; to strike or touch, usually with force; especially, to reach or touch (an object aimed at).
I think you have hit the mark. — Shakespeare
2.
To reach or attain exactly; to meet according to the occasion; to perform successfully; to attain to; to accord with; to be conformable to; to suit.
Birds learning tunes, and their endeavors to hit the notes right. — Locke
There you hit him;... that argument never fails with him. — Dryden
Whose saintly visage is too bright To hit the sense of human sight. — Milton
He scarcely hit my humor. — Tennyson
3.
To guess; to light upon or discover.
Thou hast hit it. — Shakespeare
4.
(Backgammon) To take up, or replace by a piece belonging to the opposing player; -- said of a single unprotected piece on a point.
Collocations (2)
To hit off , to describe with quick characteristic strokes; as, to hit off a speaker. — Sir W. Temple
To hit out , to perform by good luck. [Obsolete] — Spenser

Hit , intransitive verb

1.
To meet or come in contact; to strike; to clash; -- followed by against or on.
If bodies be extension alone, how can they move and hit one against another? — Locke
Corpuscles, meeting with or hitting on those bodies, become conjoined with them. — Woodward
2.
To meet or reach what was aimed at or desired; to succeed, -- often with implied chance, or luck.
And oft it hits Where hope is coldest and despair most fits. — Shakespeare
And millions miss for one that hits. — Swift
Collocations (1)
To hit on or To hit upon , to light upon; to come to by chance; to discover unexpectedly; as, he hit on the solution after days of trying. None of them hit upon the art. — Addison

Hit , noun

1.
A striking against; the collision of one body against another; the stroke that touches anything.
So he the famed Cilician fencer praised, And, at each hit, with wonder seems amazed. — Dryden
2.
A stroke of success in an enterprise, as by a fortunate chance; as, he made a hit;
A performance, as a musical recording, movie, or play, which achieved great popularity or acclaim; also used of books or objects of commerce which become big sellers; as, the new notebook computer was a big hit with business travellers.
What late he called a blessing, now was wit, And God's good providence, a lucky hit. — Pope
3.
A peculiarly apt expression or turn of thought; a phrase which hits the mark; as, a happy hit.
4.
A game won at backgammon after the adversary has removed some of his men. It counts less than a gammon.
5.
(Baseball) A striking of the ball; as, a safe hit; a foul hit; -- sometimes used specifically for a base hit.
6.
An act of murder performed for hire, esp. by a professional assassin.
Collocations (1)
Base hit or Safe hit or Sacrifice hit (Baseball) , See under Base, Safe, etc.

Hit. , adjective

Having become very popular or acclaimed; -- said of entertainment performances; as, a hit song, a hit movie.