What Does Hit It Off Mean?

Hit It Off Meaning

Definition: To get along with someone very well.

Origin of Hit It Off

This idiom originated in the 1780s. However, there was an earlier version, hit it, from the 1600s. This expression usually means two people meet each other and immediately like each other quite a lot.

Interestingly, the definition of hit to mean meet goes back even further. This was the original definition of hit, from Old English. Over time, the meaning of hit changed to strike.

The original meaning only exists in this idiom, and to hit on.

Examples of Hit It Off

Two friends are taking a walk in the park.

Dan: Do you remember when we first met?

Kira: Not really. It was such a long time ago. I’m sure we hit it off right away.

Dan: Actually, we didn’t. We both hated each other at first.

Kira: Oh, yeah! That’s right. We were in the same class, and I thought you were loud and annoying.

Dan: Exactly. And I thought you were boring and quiet.

Kira: Even though we didn’t immediately hit it off, I’m glad we became friends.

Dan: Yes. I think it helped our friendship last longer, since we had to work for it.

The following example involves two women discussing a date that one of them went on recently.

Gertrude: Last weekend you told me that your daughter had set you up on a blind date. How did it go? I know you were very nervous about it.

Ruby: I was very nervous about it. It had been so long since I had dated. However, it went great! We hit it off right away. We had so many things in common that it was very easy to talk to each other. We already have gone on two more dates since then.

Gertrude: Wow! That’s great!

More Examples

This excerpt is from an article about how a famous athlete met her future fiancé.

“This big guy comes and he just plops down at the table next to us, and I’m like, ‘Huh! All these tables and he’s sitting here?'” she recalled.

But they quickly hit it off, and a year and a half later Ohanian proposed — at the same hotel where they first met. –New York Daily News

This excerpt is from an article about stopping sex trafficking.

• “It could have easily happened to me,” Deidre said. “When I met Rebecca we hit it off. She is a strong survivor advocate. It’s critical we bring in people like her.” –OC Register

Summary

The phrase to hit it off means to immediately like each other.