Phrasal verb
hit with
Definition
phrasal verb. to surprise someone with something difficult or unexpected, like a bill, a question, or bad news.
phrasal verb. to present or confront someone with something unexpected or burdensome, often requiring an immediate response or payment.
Examples
“The waiter hit us with a huge bill.”
“Just as I was leaving the office, my boss hit me with three new projects to finish by morning.”
“The prosecution hit the witness with a series of incriminating documents that completely undermined his previous testimony.”
Examples
simple
“The waiter hit us with a huge bill.”
contextual
“Just as I was leaving the office, my boss hit me with three new projects to finish by morning.”
complex
“The prosecution hit the witness with a series of incriminating documents that completely undermined his previous testimony.”
Usage
usually takes a person as the direct object and the news or burden as the prepositional object.
Teaching tip
focus on the element of surprise or impact; it implies the recipient was unprepared for the information or cost.
Pitfall
He hit with me the news.
He hit me with the news.
the person being surprised must come between the verb and the preposition 'with'.
Phrasal verb
Particles
with
Separability
separable
Pattern
hit + object + with + object
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/hit-with