Definition
Traveled by getting free rides from strangers in their vehicles, typically by standing on the roadside and signaling for a ride.
Etymology
From 'hitch' (to fasten or attach) + 'hike' (a journey on foot). The practice became popular in the 1920s-30s, and the compound term reflects how riders would 'hitch' themselves to passing vehicles for a 'hike' down the road.
Kelly Says
Hitchhiking was once a completely normal way to travel—in the 1970s, millions of young people crisscrossed America this way before highway culture changed and people became more suspicious. It's a vanishing social practice that shaped entire generations' relationship with adventure.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
Hitchhike
hitchhike
ARالعربية
搭 النقل
dābn-an-naql
BNবাংলা
hitchhike
hitchhike
CACatalà
Hitchhike
hitchhike
CSČeština
hitchhike
hitchhike
DADansk
hitchhike
hitchhike
DEDeutsch
Ich suchte Mitfahrgelegenheiten
ish zo-che mit-fahr-ge-le-gen-heit-en
ELΕλληνικά
hitchhike
hitchhike
ESEspañol
hice autostop
e-se aw-to-stop
FAفارسی
Hitchhike
hitchhike
FISuomi
hitchhike
hitchhike
FRFrançais
j'ai fait du stop
ʒa fe du stop
HEעברית
Hitchhike
hitchhike
HIहिन्दी
ऑटोस्टॉप किया
aw-to-stop ki-ya
HUMagyar
hitchhike
hitchhike
IDBahasa Indonesia
nge-trek
nge-trek
ITItaliano
ho fatto l'autostop
ho fa-to l'aw-to-stop
JA日本語
ヒッチハイクした
hitchhike-shita
KO한국어
스톱을 했다
stop-eul ha-tta
MSBahasa Melayu
hitchhike
hitchhike
MYမြန်မာ
Hitchhike
hitchhike
NLNederlands
hitchhikken
hitchhikken
NONorsk
hitchhike
hitchhike
PLPolski
podwozić
pod-wo-zic
PTPortuguês
peguei carona
pe-guei ka-ro-na
RORomână
hitchhike
hitchhike
RUРусский
я сделал автостоп
ya sdelal avtostop
SVSvenska
hitchhike
hitchhike
SWKiswahili
hitchhike
hitchhike
TEతెలుగు
Hitchhike
hitchhike
TRTürkçe
otostop yaptım
o-to-stop ya-dim
UKУкраїнська
hitchhike
hitchhike
URاردو
Hitchhike
hitchhike
VITiếng Việt
hitchhike
hitchhike
ZH中文
搭乘过便车
dā chéng guò piàn chē
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
Hitchhiking narratives in literature/film center male freedom; women hitchhikers historically pathologized as vulnerable or promiscuous, suppressing women's mobility narratives.
Inclusive Usage
Use neutrally; when narrativizing, center diverse hitchhiker experiences rather than defaulting to male-adventure framing.
Empowerment Note
Women hitchhikers navigated independence against cultural stigma; their mobility stories deserve equal narrative weight.