Meaning & use
hitchhiking
Last updated
“hitchhiking” is a form of “hitchhike”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
noununcountable
The practice of traveling by standing at the roadside and asking drivers who pass to give you a free ride.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun: hitchhiking is risky.
Patterns
- go hitchhiking
- hitchhiking across something
Hitchhiking was a cheap way for students to see the country in the 1970s.
She wrote a book about hitchhiking across Europe.
Many countries discourage hitchhiking on highways.
verbintransitive
Present participle of hitchhike: getting a free ride by signaling to passing drivers.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by a place or direction: hitchhiking to the coast.
Patterns
- be hitchhiking to somewhere
- hitchhiking with someone
We were hitchhiking to the coast when a farmer stopped for us.
He spent the summer hitchhiking through Canada.
They were hitchhiking in the rain, holding a sign with the next town's name.
Word forms
| base form | hitchhike |
|---|---|
| third person singular | hitchhikes |
| past tense | hitchhiked |
| -ing form | hitchhiking |
Common combinations
- go hitchhiking
- They went hitchhiking after their exams.
- hitchhiking trip
- His hitchhiking trip took three weeks.
- hitchhiking across
- She is hitchhiking across Australia.
- thumb a ride
- He tried thumbing a ride on the quiet road.
- hitchhiking sign
- They made a hitchhiking sign out of cardboard.
Synonyms and how they differ
- thumbing a ride
- Thumbing a ride is informal and names the gesture, while hitchhiking is the standard word for the whole practice.
- hitching
- Hitching is the shorter, mostly British informal form and means the same thing.
- carpooling
- Carpooling is planned sharing of rides among known people, whereas hitchhiking means asking strangers.
- ride-sharing
- Ride-sharing today usually means a paid app service, unlike free hitchhiking.
Word family
- hitchhike verb
- to travel by asking drivers for free rides
- hitchhiker noun
- a person who does this
- hitch noun
- a free ride, or a small problem
- hitched adjective
- informally, married
Commonly confused: hitchhiking or carjacking?
hitchhiking vs carjacking
Carjacking is stealing a car by force from its driver, which is a crime and the opposite of a friendly ride.
Practice
With no money left for a bus, they went ____ and reached the city by evening.
Choose one answer.
Hitchhiking means getting free rides from passing drivers, which suits having no money. Carpooling and commuting imply regular arranged travel.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hitchhiking”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.