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hit-and-run (hĭtn-rŭn)

adj.

1. Being or involving the driver of a motor vehicle who leaves the scene of an accident, especially one in which a pedestrian or another vehicle has been struck.

2. Baseball Relating to or being a play in which a base runner starts to run on the pitch and the batter attempts to hit the ball to protect the runner.

3. Involving or designed for swift specific action or effect: "a day of hit-and-run disturbances by bands of dissident students" (Alfonso Narvaez).

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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