1
: a small door or opening (as in an airplane or spaceship)
an escape hatch
2
a
: an opening in the deck of a ship or in the floor or roof of a building
b
: the covering for such an opening
c
: hatchway
d
3
hatched; hatching; hatches
1
: to produce young by incubation
2
a
: to emerge from an egg, chrysalis, or pupa
b
: to give forth young or imagoes
3
: to incubate eggs : brood
1
a
: to produce (young) from an egg by applying natural or artificial heat
2
: to bring into being : originate
especially
: to concoct in secret
hatch a plot
hatched; hatching; hatches
1
: to inlay with narrow bands of distinguishable material
a silver handle hatched with gold
2
: to mark (something, such as a drawing or engraving) with fine closely spaced lines
plural hatches
: a mark, line, or stroke (as in a drawing or engraving) made usually by a single movement of a pen, pencil, etc.
especially
: one made in parallel with others to give the effect of shading
Dots, hatches, crosshatches, flowing lines, scribbles—use them all! —
Courtney Jordan
Courtney Jordan I continue to refine and tighten the drawing as I develop the form and color with overlapping hatches. —Jill Bossert
Jill Bossert Scientists have been unable to determine whether the hatches of the lower part of the drawing were done by a right- or left-handed person. —Elian Peltier
Elian Peltier [Adobe] Illustrator's new filters include Ink Pen, for creating organic-looking hatches … —Mike Heck and Karen Mitchell
Mike Heck and Karen Mitchell Synonyms
Examples of hatch in a Sentence
Verb (1)
the mallards and geese have begun hatching in their nests down by the pond
Noun (2)
watertight hatches provided access through the ship's bulkheads
Recent Examples on the WebNell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 16 May 2024
Removal of Compost: Once the composting process is complete, the mature compost can be removed from the chamber through an access door or hatch, usually located at the bottom or side of the unit.
—Debbie Wolfe, Popular Science, 15 May 2024
Flip up the Pursuit Carbon’s large hatch entry door and you’ll be greeted by a cabin that’s surprisingly roomy and has a large skylight.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 15 May 2024
The larvae hatch and eat the caterpillars from the inside out and then glue their cocoons to the outside of the caterpillar.
—Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times, 13 May 2024
The hatch brings fly fisherman to the river in droves each year, but Brooks and TU worry that a rare-earth mine in the headwaters could change that.
—Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 8 May 2024
Females typically lay eggs in tree branches, and after a few months the youngsters hatch and burrow underground.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Apr. 2024
In addition, the hatch is fitted with a smart charging system that ensures the buoy and the remote control remain fully juiced up.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2024
The truck features a giant burger on top that can be removed to put Lego minifigures inside, a burger sign, and a service hatch that can open and close when business is ready to begin.
—Alida Nugent, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
Leslie Wayne, New York Times, 20 May 2024
The reptiles that were released on May 9 hatched last year.
—Nicholas Rice, Peoplemag, 19 May 2024
The birds known when the turtles are going to hatch because that’s nature.
—A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 17 May 2024
Two eggs, one from each mother, eventually hatched.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 16 May 2024
Green Dot, who appeared Saturday at Montrose Beach, hatched at Cat Island in Wisconsin in 2023.
—Nara Schoenberg, Chicago Tribune, 13 May 2024
And when his former leading man, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), accidentally kills Colt’s replacement stunt man, Ryder and his unsavory producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) hatch a plan to make Colt the literal fall guy.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 May 2024
Prosecutors said another former student, Graeme Phillip Harris, hatched the plan to place the noose and Confederate flag on the statue after a night of drinking with Austin Reed Edenfield and a third freshman in the Sigma Phil Epsilon fraternity house.
—Stepheny Price, Fox News, 9 May 2024
The brother and sister eaglets are being raised by parents Liberty and Guardian in a nest at Turtle Bay in Redding since hatching March 26 and March 29.
—Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 9 May 2024
Noun
That means for an astronaut to step outside, the entire interior will have to be depressurized and exposed to the vacuum of space when the hatch opens.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 16 May 2024
Removal of Compost: Once the composting process is complete, the mature compost can be removed from the chamber through an access door or hatch, usually located at the bottom or side of the unit.
—Debbie Wolfe, Popular Science, 15 May 2024
Flip up the Pursuit Carbon’s large hatch entry door and you’ll be greeted by a cabin that’s surprisingly roomy and has a large skylight.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 15 May 2024
The larvae hatch and eat the caterpillars from the inside out and then glue their cocoons to the outside of the caterpillar.
—Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times, 13 May 2024
The hatch brings fly fisherman to the river in droves each year, but Brooks and TU worry that a rare-earth mine in the headwaters could change that.
—Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 8 May 2024
Females typically lay eggs in tree branches, and after a few months the youngsters hatch and burrow underground.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Apr. 2024
In addition, the hatch is fitted with a smart charging system that ensures the buoy and the remote control remain fully juiced up.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2024
The truck features a giant burger on top that can be removed to put Lego minifigures inside, a burger sign, and a service hatch that can open and close when business is ready to begin.
—Alida Nugent, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
Verb
The two hatched their scheme in 1982, and soon Mr. Boesky was having a courier deliver suitcases filled with $100 bills to Mr. Siegel — $150,000 one time, $200,000 another time and $400,000 a third — in exchange for inside information about forthcoming takeovers.
—Leslie Wayne, New York Times, 20 May 2024
The reptiles that were released on May 9 hatched last year.
—Nicholas Rice, Peoplemag, 19 May 2024
The birds known when the turtles are going to hatch because that’s nature.
—A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 17 May 2024
Two eggs, one from each mother, eventually hatched.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 16 May 2024
Green Dot, who appeared Saturday at Montrose Beach, hatched at Cat Island in Wisconsin in 2023.
—Nara Schoenberg, Chicago Tribune, 13 May 2024
And when his former leading man, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), accidentally kills Colt’s replacement stunt man, Ryder and his unsavory producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) hatch a plan to make Colt the literal fall guy.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 May 2024
Prosecutors said another former student, Graeme Phillip Harris, hatched the plan to place the noose and Confederate flag on the statue after a night of drinking with Austin Reed Edenfield and a third freshman in the Sigma Phil Epsilon fraternity house.
—Stepheny Price, Fox News, 9 May 2024
The brother and sister eaglets are being raised by parents Liberty and Guardian in a nest at Turtle Bay in Redding since hatching March 26 and March 29.
—Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 9 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hatch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hatch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hatch. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hatch
1 of 5 noun1
: an opening in a deck, floor, or roof
2
: a small door or opening (as in an airplane)
3
: the covering for a hatch
hatch
2 of 5 verb1
a
: to produce from eggs
the hen hatched chicks
b
: incubate sense 1
the hen hatched the eggs
2
a
: to emerge from an egg, pupa, or chrysalis
the chicks hatched today
b
: to give forth young
the eggs hatched today
3
: to bring into being : originate
especially
: to organize or put together in secret
hatch a plot
hatch
3 of 5 noun1
: an act or instance of hatching
2
: a brood of hatched young
hatch
4 of 5 verb
: to mark (as the shading in a picture) with hatching
hatch
5 of 5 noun
: a line, stroke, or mark made especially to produce hatching that gives the effect of shading
Etymology
Noun
Old English hæc "small door or opening"
Verb
Middle English hacchen "to cause to be born out of an egg"
Verb
Middle English hachen "to mark with a pattern of fine lines," from early French hacher "to inlay, chop up," derived from earlier hache "battle-ax"; of Germanic origin — related to hash entry 1, hatchet
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