2 VERB If you hitch , hitch a lift, or hitch a ride, you hitchhike. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n] There was no garage in sight, so I hitched a lift into town. □ [V ] Jean-Phillippe had hitched all over Europe in the 1960s.
3 VERB If you hitch something to something else, you hook it or fasten it there. □ [V n + onto/to ] Last night we hitched the horse to the cart and moved here.
4 PHRASE If you get hitched , you get married. [INFORMAL ] □ The report shows that fewer couples are getting hitched.
hitch|hike /h I tʃha I k/ (hitchhikes , hitchhiking , hitchhiked ) VERB If you hitchhike , you travel by getting lifts from passing vehicles without paying. □ [V prep/adv] Neff hitchhiked to New York during his Christmas vacation. □ [V ] They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch-hike. ● hitch|hiker (hitchhikers ) N‑COUNT □ On my way to Vancouver one Friday night I picked up a hitchhiker.
hi te ch → see high-tech
hith|er /h I ðə r /
1 ADV [ADV after v] Hither means to the place where you are. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ He has sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people.
2 PHRASE Hither and thither means in many different directions or places, and in a disorganized way. In American English, the expression hither and yon is sometimes used. □ Refugees run hither and thither in search of safety. □ …the awful amount of time I spend moving things hither and yon every year!
hither|to /h I ðə r tuː / ADV [ADV after v, ADV adj/-ed] You use hitherto to indicate that something was true up until the time you are talking about, although it may no longer be the case. [FORMAL ] □ As a result, workers who had hitherto been reliable now neglected their work.
hi t list (hit lists )
1 N‑COUNT [oft poss N ] If someone has a hit list of people or things, they are intending to take action concerning those people or things. □ [+ of ] Some banks also have a hit list of people whom they threaten to sue for damages.
2 N‑COUNT A hit list is a list that someone makes of people they intend to have killed.
hit|man /h I tmæn/ (hitmen ) also hit man N‑COUNT A hitman is a man who is hired by someone in order to kill another person.
hi t or mi ss → see hit and miss
hi t pa|rade N‑SING The hit parade is the list of CDs which have sold most copies over the previous week or month. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
hit|ter /h I tə r / (hitters )
1 N‑COUNT [adj N ] In sports, you can use hitter to say how good someone is at hitting the ball. □ The Georgian, aged 19, is not one of the game's big hitters.
2 N‑COUNT [adj N ] If you refer to someone such as a politician or a businessman as a heavy hitter or a big hitter , you mean that they are powerful and influential. □ …friendships with heavy hitters like European industrialist Carlo De Benedetti.
HIV ◆◇◇ /e I tʃ a I viː /
1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] HIV is a virus which reduces people's resistance to illness and can cause AIDS. HIV is an abbreviation for 'human immunodeficiency virus'.
2 PHRASE If someone is HIV positive , they are infected with the HIV virus, and may develop AIDS. If someone is HIV negative , they are not infected with the virus.
hive /ha I v/ (hives , hiving , hived )
1 N‑COUNT A hive is a structure in which bees are kept, which is designed so that the beekeeper can collect the honey that they produce.
2 N‑COUNT If you describe a place as a hive of activity, you approve of the fact that there is a lot of activity there or that people are busy working there. [APPROVAL ] □ [+ of ] In the morning the house was a hive of activity.
3 N‑UNCOUNT Hives is a condition in which patches of your skin become red and very uncomfortable and itchy.
▸ hive off PHRASAL VERB If someone hives off part of a business, they transfer it to new ownership, usually by selling it. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V P n] Klockner plans to hive off its loss-making steel businesses. [Also V n P , V n P into/to n]
hiya /ha I jə/ CONVENTION You can say ' hiya ' when you are greeting someone. [INFORMAL , FORMULAE ] □ Hiya. How are you?
HM /e I tʃe m/ HM is the written abbreviation for Her or His Majesty or Her or His Majesty's . It is used as part of the name of some British government organizations, or as part of a person's title. □ …HM the Queen. □ …his enlistment in HM Armed Forces. □ …HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services.
h'm also hm H'm is used in writing to represent a noise that people make when they are hesitating, for example because they are thinking about something.
HMS /e I tʃ em e s/ N‑COUNT [N n] HMS is used before the names of ships in the British Royal Navy. HMS is an abbreviation for 'Her Majesty's Ship' or 'His Majesty's Ship'. □ …launching HMS Warrior.
HNC /e I tʃ en siː / (HNCs ) N‑VAR An HNC is a group of examinations in technical subjects which you can take at a British college. HNC is an abbreviation for 'Higher National Certificate'. □ …passing his HNC in computer studies.
hoard /hɔː r d/ (hoards , hoarding , hoarded )
1 VERB If you hoard things such as food or money, you save or store them, often in secret, because they are valuable or important to you. □ [V n] They've begun to hoard food and gasoline and save their money. □ [V ] Consumers did not spend and create jobs; they hoarded. ● hoard|er (hoarders ) N‑COUNT □ Most hoarders have favorite hiding places.