Etymology From English dialectal hyke (“to walk vigorously”), probably a Northern form of hitch, from Middle English hytchen, hichen, icchen (“to move, jerk, stir”). Cognate with Scots hyke (“to move with a jerk”), dialectal German hicken (“to hobble, walk with a limp”), Danish hinke (“to hop”).
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A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise.
Well, if it gave him so much pleasure to find the nest, he is welcome to the eggs. I can hunt another grass tuft, lay another set, and rear my brood in peace while he goes "hiking" after eggs at Flathead.1904, P.M. Silloway, “Extracts from Some Montana Note-books, 1904”, in Bulletin of the Cooper Ornithological Club, volumes 1-6, Cooper Ornithological Club, page 149:
From here, you can pick up the asphalt bike path and take a hike across the meadow.1992, Allen Mitchell, California Parks Access: A Complete Guide to the State and National Parks for Visitors with Limited Mobility, page 179:
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The hike along the trolley line from Smedley to Thompson Park is a wild and wooly excursion that brings you across train tracks, through dry creek beds, past ferns and wild roses and more.2002, Doug Gelbert, The 55 Best Places to Hike with Your Dog in the Philadelphia Region, page 98:
The hike through the city of Napa's Alston Park is a great introduction to the Napa Valley.2015, Bubba Suess, Hiking California's Wine Country: A Guide to the Area's Greatest Hikes, page 166:
You'll run into Powers Road and will hike on the sidewalks of Bedford across some train tracks and onto Broadway Avenue.2019, Joe Baur, Best Hikes Cleveland: The Greatest Views, Wildlife, and Forest Strolls, page 75:
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An abrupt increase.
The tenants were not happy with the rent hike.
It was on this campus last winter that gay people stood in the vanguard of protests against a tuition hike proposed and passed during the city's fiscal crisis.1976 December 25, Alan Bowne, “Lesbians Rising Makes an Impact at Hunter”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 26, page 10:
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Those who are part of the consortium are protected from the current energy price hikes because they were tied into a fixed rate deal set almost a year ago (and continuing into most of next year).2021 October 20, “Network News: How do operators buy electricity?”, in RAIL, number 942, page 7:
With soaring inflation and the shadow of recession hanging over the United States, the Federal Reserve announced a 0.75 percentage-point increase in interest rates on Wednesday – the largest hike since 1994.2022 June 15, Dominic Rushe, “Federal Reserve announces biggest interest rate hike since 1994”, in The Guardian:
Etymology From English dialectal hyke (“to walk vigorously”), probably a Northern form of hitch, from Middle English hytchen, hichen, icchen (“to move, jerk, stir”). Cognate with Scots hyke (“to move with a jerk”), dialectal German hicken (“to hobble, walk with a limp”), Danish hinke (“to hop”).
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Ambitransitive To take a long walk (on something) for pleasure or exercise.
Don't forget to bring the map when we go hiking tomorrow.
When Dick Hudson hiked the trail between 1966 and 1970, he met so few hikers that he can still recall nearly all of them.1994, Larry Luxenberg, “Pioneer Thru-Hikers”, in Walking the Appalachian Trail, Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 33:
Etymology From English dialectal hyke (“to walk vigorously”), probably a Northern form of hitch, from Middle English hytchen, hichen, icchen (“to move, jerk, stir”). Cognate with Scots hyke (“to move with a jerk”), dialectal German hicken (“to hobble, walk with a limp”), Danish hinke (“to hop”).
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Let's go; get moving. A command to a dog sled team, given by a musher.