2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A hasty event or action is one that is completed more quickly than normal. □ After the hasty meal, the men had moved forward to take up their positions. ● hasti|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ He said good night hastily, promising that he would phone Hans in the morning.
3 ADJ If you describe a person or their behaviour as hasty , you mean that they are acting too quickly, without thinking carefully, for example because they are angry. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. ● hasti|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ I decided that nothing should be done hastily, that things had to be sorted out carefully.
hat ◆◇◇ /hæ t/ (hats )
1 N‑COUNT A hat is a head covering, often with a brim round it, which is usually worn out of doors to give protection from the weather.
2 N‑COUNT If you say that someone is wearing a particular hat , you mean that they are performing a particular role at that time. If you say that they wear several hats , you mean that they have several roles or jobs. □ …putting on my nationalistic hat. □ …various problems, including too many people wearing too many hats.
3 PHRASE If you say that you are ready to do something at the drop of a hat , you mean that you are willing to do it immediately, without hesitating. □ India is one part of the world I would go to at the drop of a hat.
4 PHRASE If you tell someone to keep a piece of information under their hat , you are asking them not to tell anyone else about it. □ Look, if I tell you something, will you promise to keep it under your hat?
5 PHRASE If you say that something or someone is old hat , you mean that they have existed or been known for a long time, and they have become uninteresting and boring. □ The younger generation tell me that religion is 'old hat' and science has proved this.
6 PHRASE In British English, if you pass the hat around , you collect money from a group of people, for example in order to give someone a present. In American English, you just say pass the hat . □ Professors are passing the hat to help staff in their department.
7 PHRASE If you say that you take your hat off to someone, you mean that you admire them for something that they have done. [APPROVAL ] □ I take my hat off to Mr Clarke for taking this action.
8 PHRASE To pull something out of the hat means to do something unexpected which helps you to succeed, often when you are failing. □ The team had somehow managed to pull another Cup victory out of the hat.
9 PHRASE In competitions, if you say that the winners will be drawn or picked out of the hat , you mean that they will be chosen randomly, so everyone has an equal chance of winning. □ The first 10 correct entries drawn out of the hat will win a pair of tickets, worth £20 each.
10 to knock something into a cocked hat → see cocked hat
hat|box /hæ tbɒks/ (hatboxes ) N‑COUNT A hatbox is a cylindrical box in which a hat can be carried and stored.
hatch /hæ tʃ/ (hatches , hatching , hatched )
1 VERB When a baby bird, insect, or other animal hatches , or when it is hatched , it comes out of its egg by breaking the shell. □ [V ] As soon as the two chicks hatch, they leave the nest burrow. □ [be V -ed] The young disappeared soon after they were hatched. [Also V n]
2 VERB When an egg hatches or when a bird, insect, or other animal hatches an egg, the egg breaks open and a baby comes out. □ [V ] The eggs hatch after a week or ten days. □ [V n] During these periods the birds will lie on the cage floor as if trying to lay or hatch eggs.
3 VERB If you hatch a plot or a scheme, you think of it and work it out. □ [V n] They hatched a plot to set fire to the house.
4 N‑COUNT A hatch is an opening in the deck of a ship, through which people or cargo can go. You can also refer to the door of this opening as a hatch . □ He stuck his head up through the hatch.
5 N‑COUNT A hatch is an opening in a ceiling or a wall, especially between a kitchen and a dining room, which you can pass something such as food through. [mainly BRIT ]
6 PHRASE If someone battens down the hatches , they prepare themselves so that they will be able to survive a coming difficulty or crisis. □ Many firms are battening down the hatches and preparing to ride out the storm.
hatch|back /hæ tʃbæk/ (hatchbacks ) N‑COUNT A hatchback is a car with an extra door at the back which opens upwards.
hatch|ery /hæ tʃəri/ (hatcheries ) N‑COUNT A hatchery is a place where people control the hatching of eggs, especially fish eggs.
hatch|et /hæ tʃ I t/ (hatchets )
1 N‑COUNT A hatchet is a small axe that you can hold in one hand.
2 PHRASE If two people bury the hatchet , they become friendly again after a quarrel or disagreement.
ha tch|et job (hatchet jobs ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] To do a hatchet job on someone or something means to say or write something mentioning many bad things about them, which harms their reputation. [INFORMAL ] □ Despite its title, his book is no hatchet job. [Also + on ]
ha tch|et man (hatchet men ) N‑COUNT You can refer to someone who makes changes in an organization by getting rid of lots of people as a hatchet man , especially if you think they do so in an unnecessarily harsh way. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ]