Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to hit the deck

to hit the deck

10 6.5
To drop to the ground quickly to avoid danger
  • phrasal verb
  • /hɪt ðə dɛk/
  • Informal
translation icon : tirarse al suelo
  • If they start shooting, you just hit the deck and stay there.
  • hit the deck hard

And then suddenly I hit the deck, hit the deck.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • If the bullets start flying, hit the deck.

    Superbad (2007)

  • Chanda did the only thing she could do and hit the deck.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • A shot goes off and people hit the deck.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • He hit the deck when the shooting started.

    Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950)

  • The rest of the passengers hit the deck, except for a college student listening to music on headphones.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Cops hit the deck as the tail-boom swings around, going over them by inches.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Diving blindly, she hit the deck, dazed and panic-stricken.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • When the alarm sounded, everyone had to hit the deck to avoid the incoming blasts.

  • She quickly hit the deck when she heard the gunfire near the school.

  • As the storm approached, the crew was ordered to hit the deck for safety.

Synonyms

to fall
vsto hit the deck
∞ 1.0

Move or drop down from a higher to a lower place

is narrower, meaning a quick drop done to escape harm
to fall down
vsto hit the deck
250 1.0

Suddenly move from a standing position to the ground or a lower level

describes sudden drops often done specifically to avoid danger
to topple
vsto hit the deck
93 4.1

To fall over or make something fall over, often suddenly when it loses balance

is about sudden drops to avoid danger, not mainly balance loss
to hit the ground
vsto hit the deck
64 3.6

Touch the ground after falling or being dropped

is used for sudden defensive drops rather than simple contact
to keel over
vsto hit the deck
  • Informal
16 5.7

Fall down suddenly because you faint or feel very weak

means a quick ground drop done to avoid harm, not medical collapse
to hit the dirt
vsto hit the deck
  • Informal
3 7.5

Drop to the ground quickly to avoid danger

has identical meaning but uses a different informal phrase
to fall flat on the floor
vsto hit the deck
5.0

To drop suddenly onto the floor and lie face down or stretched out

is more general, focusing on quick defensive drops not posture

Antonyms

to stand up
559 1.0

To get up from sitting or lying and be on your feet

How Quickly

to hit the deck
  • Informal
10 6.5
to fall down
250 1.0
to fall
∞ 1.0
to stumble
129 1.6

Surface Forms

hit the deck infinitive
hit the decked past
hit the decked past participle
hitting the deck present participle
hits the deck third person singular

Morphology

hit + the + deck

The phrase is largely motivated by the literal combination 'hit' (strike) + 'deck' (floor/platform), so a learner who knows the words could plausibly infer an action involving the floor (i.e. hitting or going to the ground). However, the conventionalized sense 'drop to the ground quickly, often to take cover' has idiomatic/pragmatic nuance (and 'deck' as a surface may be ambiguous), so the exact meaning is not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb hit the deck may come from sailors who, in storms or battle, would quickly hit the wooden deck by dropping flat to stay safe. That's why it now means 'to fall or drop to the ground suddenly to avoid danger'.