hit and run

noun

"hit-and-run" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hit and run” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The crime of causing a traffic collision, and leaving without acknowledging responsibility.

Key facts for hit and run
PropertyValue
Headwordhit and run
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hit and run” sits in English frequency

hit and run falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hit and run is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for hit and run, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is hit and run, spelled H-I-T- -A-N-D- -R-U-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The crime of causing a traffic collision, and leaving without acknowledging responsibility.
  2. 2
    A play where the baserunners leave their base before the batter hits the ball, assuming that the batter will in fact hit the ball and this will give them an advantage.
  3. 3
    The tactic of attacking one place and then quickly moving to another before defenders can react.
  4. 4
    Sexual intercourse followed by a prompt departure; a one-night stand.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hit and run"?
"hit and run" is spelled H-I-T- -A-N-D- -R-U-N.
What does "hit and run" mean?
As a noun, "hit and run" means: The crime of causing a traffic collision, and leaving without acknowledging responsibility.
What language does "hit and run" come from?
"hit and run" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “hit and run”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-I-T- -A-N-D- -R-U-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list