hitchhike
/ˈhɪt͡ʃhaɪk/ verb, noun
Forms hitchhikes hitchhiking hitchhiked hitch-hike
- verb (intransitive) To try to get a ride in a passing vehicle while standing at the side of a road, generally by either sticking out one's finger or thumb or holding a sign with one's stated destination.
- verb (US, transitive) To try to get (a ride) in this manner. “Pamela hitchhiked a ride to New York.”
- verb (intransitive, by extension) To be carried along with something else. “In genetic hitchhiking, a gene is propagated because it occurs in conjunction with a favourable mutation.”
- noun A journey made by hitchhiking.
Synonyms
Etymology
From hitch + hike.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “hitchhike”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details