Meaning & use
glitch
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A small fault that makes a machine, program or system work wrongly for a short time.
Grammar: Takes an or an: a technical glitch.
Patterns
- a glitch in something
- a technical glitch
A software glitch caused the ticket website to crash.
The airline blamed a computer glitch for the delays.
There was a glitch in the video, so the sound did not match.
nouncountableinformal
A minor problem or setback that interrupts a plan or process.
Grammar: Used about plans and projects, not only machines.
Patterns
- hit a glitch
- a glitch in the plan
We hit a glitch when the caterer arrived a day early.
Apart from a small glitch with the schedule, the event went well.
The plan had a glitch that nobody noticed until the last minute.
verbintransitiveinformalcomputing
To develop or show brief faults, usually in a video, game or device.
Grammar: Informal verb: the screen glitched.
Patterns
- glitch out
The game glitched and my character fell through the floor.
My phone screen keeps glitching when I open that app.
Word forms
| plural | glitches |
|---|---|
| third person singular | glitches |
| past tense | glitched |
| past participle | glitched |
| -ing form | glitching |
Common combinations
- technical glitch
- A technical glitch delayed the broadcast.
- software glitch
- A software glitch deleted the file.
- minor glitch
- There was a minor glitch with the payment.
- fix a glitch
- The engineers fixed the glitch overnight.
- glitch in the system
- A glitch in the system charged customers twice.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bug
- A bug is a specific error in a program's code, while a glitch can be a brief, unexplained malfunction.
- hiccup
- Hiccup is a gentler, informal word for a small, temporary setback.
- snag
- Snag is a hidden difficulty that slows progress and does not need to involve a machine.
- malfunction
- Malfunction is more formal and can be a larger, longer failure than a glitch.
Word family
- glitchy adjective
- prone to small faults
Commonly confused: glitch or bug?
glitch vs bug
A bug is a specific error in code that can be traced and fixed; a glitch is often a temporary fault whose cause may not be clear.
Practice
Which phrase best completes: The livestream was interrupted by a technical ____.
Choose one answer.
A glitch is a small technical fault. Glimpse, glance and glare relate to looking and light, not malfunctions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “glitch”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.