hit

Name: hit, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/hɪt/

//hɪt// verb

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“hit” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #421) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#421
frequency rank, English: 2,646
“H” headwords: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To strike.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hit · hit · English

hit · rank #421 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

FREQ-CORE #421
LEN-MID 3 letters
VOW-1 1 vowel
CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
VAR-0 0 variants
BOOK-MID 2,646
PHOTO-FINISH friend

Nearest frequency peer: friend (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

air

99,583
bit

99,582
friend

99,581
hit

99,580
needs

99,579
nice

99,578

What this shows Bars show where “hit” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hit vs ho

33% similar

hit vs HR

0% similar

hit vs HP

0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hit
Property	Value
Headword	hit
Language	English
Part of speech	Verb
IPA	/hɪt/
Letters	3
Frequency rank	#421
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hit” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). hit lands here:

#421

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for hit is neighbouring look-alikes ("ho", "HR", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /hɪt/. Frequency #421 among 2,646 “H” headwords. 25 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

hit doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ho", "HR", "HP", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd-der. Proto-Indo-European *kh₂id-néh₂-ti Proto-Germanic *hittijaną Old Norse hittader. Old English hyttan Middle English hitten English hit Inherited from Middle English hitten (“to hit, strike, make contact with”),… The correct English form is hit, spelled H-I-T.

Definition

1
To strike.
2
To strike.
3
To strike.
4
To strike.
5
To strike.
6
To strike.
7
To strike.
8
To manage to touch (a target) in the right place.
9
To switch on or switch off (lights).
10
To commence playing.
11
To briefly visit.
12
To encounter an obstacle or other difficulty.
13
To attain, to achieve.
14
To attain, to achieve.
15
To attain, to achieve.
16
To affect negatively.
17
To attack.
18
To make a play.
19
To make a play.
20
To make a play.
21
To use; to connect to.
22
To have sex with.
23
To inhale an amount of smoke from a narcotic substance, particularly marijuana.
24
(of an exercise) to affect, to work a body part.
25
To work out.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hit appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

One boy hit the other.
Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd-der. Proto-Indo-European *kh₂id-néh₂-ti Proto-Germanic *hittijaną Old Norse hittader. Old English hyttan Middle English hitten English hit Inherited from Middle English hitten (“to hit, strike, make contact with”), from Old English hittan (“to meet with, come upon, fall in with”), from Old Norse hitta (“to strike, meet”), from Proto-Germanic *hittijaną (“to come upon, find”), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- (“to fall; fall upon; hit; cut; hew”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian hitte (“to meet”), Dutch hitten (“to hit, encounter”), Danish hitte (“to find”), Faroese, Icelandic, Swedish hitta (“to meet”), Norwegian Nynorsk hitta, hitte (“to meet; to find”), Latin caedō (“to kill”), Albanian qit (“to hit, throw, pull out, release”). Probably also related to Dutch hei (“mallet”), German Heie (“wooden hammer, mallet”).

Synonyms

beat pelt thump bump off do away with whack kill beset fall upon lay into attack bang ram smashcopulate withsmoke up tokehit the gymbaste batter belabor blow boom-boom buffet butt calcitrate cuff dab dash dowse feezefetch one a blowflapgive tocokick knock hammer hit impact jerk lambaste lay on lunge patter pat pink poke pummel punch pound tap thrash thwack rap slam slap smack smite spank strike swap swinge vapulate whip yerk

Antonyms

miss block

This word in other languages

golpear(Español)frapper(Français)schlagen(Deutsch)bater(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hit"?

"hit" is spelled H-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /hɪt/.

What does "hit" mean?

As a verb, "hit" means: To strike.

What words are commonly confused with "hit"?

"hit" is commonly confused with "ho", "HR", "HP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "hit"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hit" is /hɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "hit"?

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hit", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bit#419 air#418 I'd#433 win#408

What to do next

You've looked up "hit". Here's where to go from here.

"hit" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ho". View pair
Usage frequency rank #421 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
Browse more English words in the "H" letter cohort. H–Z browse
PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.