ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hit with

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford Informal

phr. v.. to surprise someone with something difficult or unexpected, like a bill, a question, or bad news.

phr. v.. to present or confront someone with something unexpected or burdensome, often requiring an immediate response or payment.


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.

Particles
with
Separability
separable
Pattern
hit + object + with + object
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'.

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