hike

Meanings

Noun

• A long walk.
• An abrupt increase.
• The snap of the ball to start a play.
• A sharp upward tug to raise something.

Verb

• To take a long walk for pleasure or exercise.
• To unfairly or suddenly raise a price.
• To snap the ball to start a play.
• To lean out to the windward side of a sailboat in order to counterbalance the effects of the wind on the sails.
• To pull up or tug upwards sharply.

Interjection

• Let's go; get moving.

Related

Similar words

• tramp
• lean out, sit out

Origin

• From English dialectal hyke, probably a Northern form of hitch, from Middle English hytchen, hichen, icchen. Cognate with Scots hyke ("to move with a jerk"), dialectal German hicken ("to hobble, walk with a limp"), Danish hinke ("to hop"). More at hick.