hatch

v. to break out of an egg when being born.

v. to emerge from an egg; also used transitively to describe the act of incubating eggs until they break open.

“We watched the tiny sea turtles hatch and crawl toward the ocean.”

“The biologist monitored the temperature closely, ensuring the environment remained stable enough for the rare species to hatch successfully.”

v. to create a secret plan or a plot.

v. to devise or originate a plan, scheme, or plot, typically in secret.

“The kids were hatching a plan to stay up past their bedtime.”

“The conspirators met in a dimly lit basement to hatch a plot that would eventually topple the local government.”

v. to shade a drawing using many small parallel lines.

v. to shade an area of a drawing or diagram with fine parallel lines to create texture or depth.

“The artist used a fine pen to hatch the shadows on the face.”

“The architectural draft used cross-hatching to distinguish between different types of masonry in the cross-section view.”

Technical

n. a small door in a floor, a ceiling, or the side of a ship or plane.

n. an opening or door in a deck, floor, or hull, often providing access to a compartment below or for maintenance.

“The sailor opened the hatch and climbed down into the engine room.”

“Ground crew accessed the avionics bay through a small maintenance hatch located on the underside of the aircraft's fuselage.”

n. a small opening in a wall used to pass food from a kitchen to a dining room.

n. an opening in a wall at window height for the purpose of serving food or other items between rooms.

“She passed the plates through the hatch into the dining area.”

“The renovation included a wide serving hatch to allow the chef to communicate more easily with the waitstaff during the dinner rush.”

British English