Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To travel by soliciting free rides along a road.
- intransitive verb To solicit or get (a free ride) along a road.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To travel by getting free rides from passing vehicles.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb 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 To be carried along with something else, for example Genetic Hitchhiking where a gene is propagated because it occurs in conjunction with a favourable mutation, or Cultural Hitchhiking where a cultural trait spreads with a technologically advanced population.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb travel by getting free rides from motorists
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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As the Enterprise was far faster than Dare's ships, he and his gang requested that they be allowed to "hitchhike" the rest of the way.
The Beast That Resembles A Poem(A Handy Resource for Architects,Engineers, and Students) 2010
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If one of these genes if highly beneficial whereas the other is mildly deleterious (harmful), the deleterious gene can "hitchhike" with its buddy and increase in frequency even though it will lead to the increase in frequency of a maladaptive trait.
Evolution 2008
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Encourage everyone to think of ways to draw from or "hitchhike" on others 'ideas.
9. Before you call a meeting, decide if you should have one at all10 1993
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Fairy wren males "hitchhike" their responses so closely on the end of the butcherbird's call that it sounds almost like a duet.
Ars Technica Kate Shaw 2011
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Fairy wren males "hitchhike" their responses so closely on the end of the butcherbird's call that it sounds almost like a duet.
Ars Technica Kate Shaw 2011
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Fairy wren males "hitchhike" their responses so closely on the end of the butcherbird's call that it sounds almost like a duet.
Ars Technica Kate Shaw 2011
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I believe that Borchard may be gesturing toward one possible mechanism by which depression is genetically conserved: not by virtue of its adaptive value, but by virtue of depression's ability to "hitchhike" along -- as a spandrel -- with a sensitive, altruistic, and compassionate nature: traits that are indeed adaptive, in many social contexts.
ScienceBlogs Channel : Life Science David Dobbs none@example.com 2010
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However, sometimes deleterious traits also "hitchhike" along with the desired traits as a result of inbreeding.
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However, sometimes deleterious traits also "hitchhike" along with the desired traits as a result of inbreeding.
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When these items are moved, the moth eggs "hitchhike" along like a wandering gypsy.
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