hitch

Etymology

Probably from Middle English hicchen, hytchen, icchen (“to move; to move as with a jerk”), of obscure origin. Lacks cognates in other languages. Compare itch, hike.

noun

1. A sudden pull.
2. Any of various knots used to attach a rope to an object other than another rope.
3. A fastener or connection point, as for a trailer.
   His truck sported a heavy-duty hitch for his boat.
4. (informal) A problem, delay or source of difficulty.
   The banquet went off without a hitch ― The banquet went smoothly.
   The service operated according to plan on the Monday morning with only a few hitches. 1961 July, “Glasgow emergency - the restoration of Clydeside steam suburban services”, in Trains Illustrated, page 432
   Over the next week, the hitch in my dad's stride eased a bit. But we'd run out of things to talk about. 2008 October, Davy Rothbart, “How I caught up with dad”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 8, →ISSN, page 110
5. A hidden or unfavorable condition or element.
   The deal sounds too good to be true. What's the hitch?
6. (military, slang) A period of time spent in the military.
   She served two hitches in Vietnam.
   U.S. TROOPS FACE LONGER ARMY HITCH; SOLDIERS BOUND FOR IRAQ, ... WILL BE RETAINED 2004, June 3, Stephen J. Hedges & Mike Dorning, Chicago Tribune; Orlando Sentinel; page pg. A.1
7. A large Californian minnow, Lavinia exilicauda.

verb

1. (transitive) To pull with a jerk.
   She hitched her jeans up and then tightened her belt.
2. (transitive) To attach, tie or fasten.
   He hitched the bedroll to his backpack and went camping.
   Philander went into the next room, which was just a lean-to hitched on to the end of the shanty, and came back with a salt mackerel that dripped brine like a rainstorm. Then he put the coffee pot on the stove and rummaged out a loaf of dry bread and some hardtack. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 8, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
   The company has hitched its future to artificial intelligence — whether with its voice-enabled digital assistant or its automated placement of advertising for marketers — as the breakthrough technology to make the next generation of services and devices smarter and more capable. 2020-12-03, Cade Metz, Daisuke Wakabayashi, “Google Researcher Says She Was Fired Over Paper Highlighting Bias in A.I.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
3. (informal) To marry oneself to; especially to get hitched.
4. (informal, transitive) Clipping of hitchhike, to thumb a ride.
   to hitch a ride
5. (intransitive) To become entangled or caught; to be linked or yoked; to unite; to cling.
6. (intransitive) To move interruptedly or with halts, jerks, or steps; said of something obstructed or impeded.
   Frank’s breath hitched in his throat when he saw the knife being pointed at him.
7. (intransitive, UK) To strike the legs together in going, as horses; to interfere.
   Stolen[…]A brown Gelding[…]all his paces, and hitches a little in his pace. 1686, London Gazette