to hit the road
90
2.5
- phrasal verb
- /hɪt ðə roʊd/
- Informal
:
ponerse en marcha
- We should hit the road early tomorrow to avoid traffic.
- let's hit the road
- ready to hit the road
- time to hit the road
We have the monster of Mount Kalmadraw behind us and let's hit the road.
- We have the monster of Mount Kalmadraw behind us and let's hit the road.
- She's in good shape, fixing to hit the road.
- Ball up with more folks hitting the road, more accidents are happening and insurance rates are going up.
- Before we officially hit the road, Sarah and I are going to stop at the mechanic because we both need an oil change.
- She makes these coffee Frappuccinos when we are driving, so we'll hit the road and instead of stopping at Starbucks, we just got these awesome coffee Frappuccinos.
- So the nigger hit the road for the back end.
- If they're like I'm leaving you, then take your little freaking booty mouth and hit the road.
- See, my goddaughter and my mom was just to hit the road 'cause I asked Michelle to do the next day and I'm jumping on my vehicle.
Examples
-
An uncomfortable moment passed before my father said that we needed to hit the road.
Fiction book (1998) -
We left Villa Diana at eight in the morning and hit the road to Banaue.
Blog text (22) -
You guys can hit the road in the morning.
-
I think it's time you hit the road.
-
OK, let 's hit the road.
-
"Well, this was fun, kids," he said, "but it's time for us to hit the road."
Fiction book (1999) -
Yes, we're going to be hitting the road every weekend, one weekend a month from August to December.
-
I'll get a truck, we'll hit the road.
-
I gotta get up in a few hours, so I'm gonna hit the road.
-
"I'd love to see them," she says, "but I need to hit the road."
Fiction book (1996)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To move from one place to another, physically or in meaning
∞
1.0
To go from one place to another, often for work or pleasure
422
2.3
To start doing something or to leave
273
3.2
To leave a place quickly, often to travel somewhere else
167
2.5
To leave a place to start a trip
66
2.4
To begin a journey to go to another place
57
2.4
To begin a journey toward a place
39
2.5
To leave a place to go to another place
4
4.9
To start a trip by walking in the countryside
3
5.2
To start something after getting everything ready
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
hit + the + road
The phrase uses a metaphorical extension of the literal words: 'road' clearly evokes travel, but 'hit' does not literally mean 'leave' so the sense 'set out/leave' is not fully predictable from the components. Cross-linguistically similar 'take to the road' or 'set out' constructions exist, giving some cue, but a B1 learner who just knows the words would likely need prior exposure to be certain of the idiomatic meaning.
Etymology
Hit the road comes from the image of someone setting off on a trip: they hit the road when their car or wagon began moving and they drove away. So today it means 'to leave a place' or 'to start a journey'.