HATCH
What does "HATCH" mean?
To emerge from an egg, or to cause an egg to produce young.
Meanings
- To break out of an egg, or to bring young forth from eggs. The chicks hatched on a warm morning in April.
- To devise or originate a plan, especially a secret one. They hatched a scheme to surprise her at the airport. figurative
- An opening or door in a floor, deck, ceiling, or wall, often with a cover. The sailor climbed down through the hatch into the cabin.
- To shade a drawing with fine parallel lines. He hatched the shadows of the portrait with a fine pen. technical
Word origin
The 'egg' verb is from Middle English 'hacchen', of Germanic origin; the 'opening' noun is from Old English 'hæc' (gate, grating); the drawing sense is from French 'hacher' (to chop), related to 'hatchet'.
Remember it
A baby bird must CATCH a break to HATCH - swap the C for an H and it cracks the shell.
A little poem
A crack, then a beak-
the whole sky was waiting there
behind one thin wall.
haiku
Wordplay
- Don't count your chickens before they hatch, my grandfather warned. He kept his savings in eggs and was, in fairness, terrible at math.
What it teaches
Every plan and every chick must break its own shell from the inside; no one can crack it open for you.
Quick facts
What does HATCH mean?
To emerge from an egg, or to cause an egg to produce young.
Is HATCH a valid word?
Yes — HATCH is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is HATCH?
HATCH has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does HATCH come from?
The 'egg' verb is from Middle English 'hacchen', of Germanic origin; the 'opening' noun is from Old English 'hæc' (gate, grating); the drawing sense is from French 'hacher' (to chop), related to 'hatchet'.
What can HATCH teach us?
Every plan and every chick must break its own shell from the inside; no one can crack it open for you.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.