H definition | Dictionary.com

H, h

[eych]

–noun, plural H's or Hs, h's or hs.

1.	the eighth letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.

2.	any spoken sound represented by the letter H or h, as in hot or behave.

3.	something having the shape of an H.

4.	a written or printed representation of the letter H or h.

5.	a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter H or h.

Language Translation for : H

Spanish:

German:

Std.; Stunde,

Japanese:

時間

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H

hard.

2.	Grammar. head.

3.	Electricity. henry.

4.	Slang. heroin.

high.

H

Symbol.

1.	the eighth in order or in a series.

2.	(sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 200. Compare Roman numerals.

3.	Chemistry. hydrogen.

4.	Biochemistry. histidine.

Physics.

enthalpy.

b.	horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field.

c.	magnetic intensity.

6.	Music. the letter used in German to indicate the tone B.

H

Symbol, Chemistry.

protium.

Also, ¹H, H^a

H

Symbol, Chemistry.

deuterium.

Also, ²H, H^b

H

Symbol, Chemistry.

tritium.

Also, ³H, H^c

h

hard.

h

Symbol, Physics.

Planck's constant.

H.

(in prescriptions) an hour.

Origin:
< L hōra

h.

harbor.

hard.

hardness.

4.	heavy sea.

height.

hence.

high.

8.	Baseball. hit; hits.

horns.

10.	hour; hours.

11.

hundred.

12.

husband.

Also, H.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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en·thal·py (ěn'thāl'pē, ěn-thāl'-) Pronunciation Key
n. Symbol H pl. en·thal·pies
A thermodynamic function of a system, equivalent to the sum of the internal energy of the system plus the product of its volume multiplied by the pressure exerted on it by its surroundings.

[Greek enthalpein, to heat in (en-, in; see en-² + thalpein, to heat) + -y².]

h¹ or H (āch) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. h's or H's also hs or Hs

The eighth letter of the modern English alphabet.
Any of the speech sounds represented by the letter h.
The eighth in a series.
Something shaped like the letter H.

h²
The symbol for Planck's constant.

h³
abbr.

height
hour

H¹

The symbol for the element hydrogen.
The symbol for enthalpy.

H²
abbr.

Physics Hamiltonian
Physics henry
high
Baseball hit
hot
humidity

Ham·il·to·ni·an (hām'əl-tō'nē-ən) Pronunciation Key
n. Abbr. H
A mathematical function that can be used to generate the equations of motion of a dynamic system, equal for many such systems to the sum of the kinetic and potential energies of the system expressed in terms of the system's coordinates and momenta treated as independent variables.

[After Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865), Irish mathematician.]

height (hīt) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. Abbr. h The distance from the base of something to the top.
2. Elevation above a given level, as of the sun or a star above the horizon; altitude. See Synonyms at elevation.
3. The condition or attribute of being relatively or sufficiently high or tall.
4. Stature, especially of the human body.
5. The highest or most advanced degree; the zenith: at the height of her career.
6. The point of highest intensity; the climax: the height of a storm.
7. A high point or position.
8. Obsolete High rank, estate, or degree.
9. Archaic Loftiness of mind.
10. Obsolete Arrogance; hauteur: "He returned me a very resolute answer, and full of height" (Oliver Cromwell).
1. The condition or attribute of being relatively or sufficiently high or tall.
2. Stature, especially of the human body.
3. The highest or most advanced degree; the zenith: at the height of her career.
4. The point of highest intensity; the climax: the height of a storm.
5. A high point or position.
6. Obsolete High rank, estate, or degree.
7. Archaic Loftiness of mind.
8. Obsolete Arrogance; hauteur: "He returned me a very resolute answer, and full of height" (Oliver Cromwell).
The highest or uppermost point; the summit or apex.
1. The highest or most advanced degree; the zenith: at the height of her career.
2. The point of highest intensity; the climax: the height of a storm.
3. A high point or position.
4. Obsolete High rank, estate, or degree.
5. Archaic Loftiness of mind.
6. Obsolete Arrogance; hauteur: "He returned me a very resolute answer, and full of height" (Oliver Cromwell).
An eminence, such as a hill or mountain. Often used in the plural.
1. A high point or position.
2. Obsolete High rank, estate, or degree.
3. Archaic Loftiness of mind.
4. Obsolete Arrogance; hauteur: "He returned me a very resolute answer, and full of height" (Oliver Cromwell).
1. Archaic Loftiness of mind.
2. Obsolete Arrogance; hauteur: "He returned me a very resolute answer, and full of height" (Oliver Cromwell).

[Middle English, from Old English hēhthu, hēahthu.]

Usage Note: The pronunciation of height with a final (th), (hīth), which is rarely heard now, reflects the original spelling and pronunciation of the word in Old English. During the Middle English period, the (th) varied with (t), with the final (t) predominating after the 15th century. Another pronunciation, with a (th) sound coming after (t), (hītth), is often heard, but it is generally regarded as nonstandard. In a recent survey, 90 percent of the Usage Panel disapproved of this pronunciation, which probably came about by association with width, breadth, and length.

hen·ry (hěn'rē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. hen·ries or hen·rys Abbr. H
The unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second. See Table at measurement.

[After Joseph Henry.]

hit   (hĭt) Pronunciation Key
v.   hit, hit·ting, hits

v.   tr.

1. To come into contact with forcefully; strike: The car hit the guardrail.
2. To reach with or as if with a blow: The bullet hit the police officer in the shoulder.
3. To cause to come into contact: She hit her hand against the wall.
4. To deal a blow to.
5. To strike with a missile: fired and hit the target.
6. To reach with a propelled ball or puck: hit the running back with a pass.
7. To score in this way: She hit the winning basket.
8. To perform (a shot or maneuver) successfully: couldn't hit the jump shot.
9. To propel with a stroke or blow: hit the ball onto the green.
10. To execute (a base hit) successfully: hit a single.
11. To bat against (a pitcher or kind of pitch) successfully: can't hit a slider.
12. To affect, especially adversely: The company was hit hard by the recession. Influenza hit the elderly the hardest.
13. To be affected by (a negative development): Their marriage hit a bad patch.
14. To win (a prize, for example), especially in a lottery.
15. To arise suddenly in the mind of; occur to: It finally hit him that she might be his long-lost sister.
16. Informal To go to or arrive at: We hit the beach early.
17. Informal To attain or reach: Monthly sales hit a new high. She hit 40 on her last birthday.
18. To produce or represent accurately: trying to hit the right note.
1. To cause to come into contact: She hit her hand against the wall.
2. To deal a blow to.
3. To strike with a missile: fired and hit the target.
4. To reach with a propelled ball or puck: hit the running back with a pass.
5. To score in this way: She hit the winning basket.
6. To perform (a shot or maneuver) successfully: couldn't hit the jump shot.
7. To propel with a stroke or blow: hit the ball onto the green.
8. To execute (a base hit) successfully: hit a single.
9. To bat against (a pitcher or kind of pitch) successfully: can't hit a slider.
10. To affect, especially adversely: The company was hit hard by the recession. Influenza hit the elderly the hardest.
11. To be affected by (a negative development): Their marriage hit a bad patch.
12. To win (a prize, for example), especially in a lottery.
13. To arise suddenly in the mind of; occur to: It finally hit him that she might be his long-lost sister.
14. Informal To go to or arrive at: We hit the beach early.
15. Informal To attain or reach: Monthly sales hit a new high. She hit 40 on her last birthday.
16. To produce or represent accurately: trying to hit the right note.
To press or push (a key or button, for example): hit the return key by mistake.
Sports
1. To reach with a propelled ball or puck: hit the running back with a pass.
2. To score in this way: She hit the winning basket.
3. To perform (a shot or maneuver) successfully: couldn't hit the jump shot.
4. To propel with a stroke or blow: hit the ball onto the green.
5. To execute (a base hit) successfully: hit a single.
6. To bat against (a pitcher or kind of pitch) successfully: can't hit a slider.
7. To affect, especially adversely: The company was hit hard by the recession. Influenza hit the elderly the hardest.
8. To be affected by (a negative development): Their marriage hit a bad patch.
9. To win (a prize, for example), especially in a lottery.
10. To arise suddenly in the mind of; occur to: It finally hit him that she might be his long-lost sister.
11. Informal To go to or arrive at: We hit the beach early.
12. Informal To attain or reach: Monthly sales hit a new high. She hit 40 on her last birthday.
13. To produce or represent accurately: trying to hit the right note.
Baseball
1. To execute (a base hit) successfully: hit a single.
2. To bat against (a pitcher or kind of pitch) successfully: can't hit a slider.
3. To affect, especially adversely: The company was hit hard by the recession. Influenza hit the elderly the hardest.
4. To be affected by (a negative development): Their marriage hit a bad patch.
5. To win (a prize, for example), especially in a lottery.
6. To arise suddenly in the mind of; occur to: It finally hit him that she might be his long-lost sister.
7. Informal To go to or arrive at: We hit the beach early.
8. Informal To attain or reach: Monthly sales hit a new high. She hit 40 on her last birthday.
9. To produce or represent accurately: trying to hit the right note.
1. To affect, especially adversely: The company was hit hard by the recession. Influenza hit the elderly the hardest.
2. To be affected by (a negative development): Their marriage hit a bad patch.
3. To win (a prize, for example), especially in a lottery.
4. To arise suddenly in the mind of; occur to: It finally hit him that she might be his long-lost sister.
5. Informal To go to or arrive at: We hit the beach early.
6. Informal To attain or reach: Monthly sales hit a new high. She hit 40 on her last birthday.
7. To produce or represent accurately: trying to hit the right note.
Informal
1. To win (a prize, for example), especially in a lottery.
2. To arise suddenly in the mind of; occur to: It finally hit him that she might be his long-lost sister.
3. Informal To go to or arrive at: We hit the beach early.
4. Informal To attain or reach: Monthly sales hit a new high. She hit 40 on her last birthday.
5. To produce or represent accurately: trying to hit the right note.
1. Informal To go to or arrive at: We hit the beach early.
2. Informal To attain or reach: Monthly sales hit a new high. She hit 40 on her last birthday.
3. To produce or represent accurately: trying to hit the right note.
Games To deal cards to.
Sports To bite on or take (bait or a lure). Used of a fish.

v. intr.

To strike or deal a blow.
1. To come into contact with something; collide.
2. To attack: The raiders hit at dawn.
3. To happen or occur: The storm hit without warning.
To achieve or find something desired or sought: finally hit on the answer; hit upon a solution to the problem.
Baseball To bat or bat well: Their slugger hasn't been hitting lately.
Sports To score by shooting, especially in basketball: hit on 7 of 8 shots.
To ignite a mixture of air and fuel in the cylinders. Used of an internal-combustion engine.

1. A collision or impact.
2. A successfully executed shot, blow, thrust, or throw.
3. Sports A deliberate collision with an opponent, such as a body check in ice hockey.
4. A match of data in a search string against data that one is searching.
5. A connection made to a website over the Internet or another network: Our company's website gets about 2,000 hits daily.
6. A dose of a narcotic drug.
7. A puff of a cigarette or a pipe.
A successful or popular venture: a Broadway hit.
Computer Science
1. A match of data in a search string against data that one is searching.
2. A connection made to a website over the Internet or another network: Our company's website gets about 2,000 hits daily.
3. A dose of a narcotic drug.
4. A puff of a cigarette or a pipe.
An apt or effective remark.
Abbr. H Baseball A base hit.
Slang
1. A dose of a narcotic drug.
2. A puff of a cigarette or a pipe.
Slang A murder planned and carried out usually by a member of an underworld syndicate.

Phrasal Verb(s):
hit on Slang To pay unsolicited and usually unwanted sexual attention to: can't go into a bar lately without being hit on.
hit up Slang To approach and ask (someone) for something, especially for money: tried to hit me up for a loan.

Idiom(s):
hit it big Slang To be successful: investors who hit it big on the stock market.

Idiom(s):
hit it off Informal To get along well together.

Idiom(s):
hit the books Informal To study, especially with concentrated effort.

Idiom(s):
hit the bottle/booze/sauce Slang To engage in drinking alcoholic beverages.

Idiom(s):
hit the bricks Slang To go on strike.

Idiom(s):
hit the fan Slang To have serious, usually adverse consequences.

Idiom(s):
hit the ground running Informal To begin a venture with great energy, involvement, and competence.

Idiom(s):
hit the hay/sack Slang To go to bed: hit the hay well before midnight.

Idiom(s):
hit the high points/spots To direct attention to the most important points or places.

Idiom(s):
hit the jackpot To become highly and unexpectedly successful, especially to win a great deal of money.

Idiom(s):
hit the nail on the head To be absolutely right.

Idiom(s):
hit the road Slang To set out, as on a trip; leave.

Idiom(s):
hit the roof/ceiling Slang To express anger, especially vehemently.

Idiom(s):
hit the spot To give total or desired satisfaction, as food or drink.

[Middle English hitten, from Old English hyttan, from Old Norse hitta.]
hit'less adj., hit'ta·ble adj.

hy·dro·gen (hī'drə-jən) Pronunciation Key
n. Symbol H
A colorless, highly flammable gaseous element, the lightest of all gases and the most abundant element in the universe, used in the production of synthetic ammonia and methanol, in petroleum refining, in the hydrogenation of organic materials, as a reducing atmosphere, in oxyhydrogen torches, and in rocket fuels. Atomic number 1; atomic weight 1.00794; melting point -259.14°C; boiling point -252.8°C; density at 0°C 0.08987 gram per liter; valence 1. See Table at element.

[French hydrogène : Greek hudro-, hydro- + French -gène, -gen.]
hy·drog'e·nous (-drōj'ə-nəs) adj.

Planck's constant (plängks) Pronunciation Key
n. Symbol h
The constant of proportionality relating the energy of a photon to the frequency of that photon. Its value is approximately 6.626 × 10^-34 joule-seconds.

[After Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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the pronunciation "aitch" was in O.Fr. (ache), and is from a presumed L.L. *accha (cf. It. effe, elle, emme), with the central sound approximating the value of the letter when it passed from Roman to Germanic, where it at first represented a strong, distinctly aspirated -kh- sound close to that in Scottish loch. In earlier L. the letter was called ha. In Romance languages, the sound became silent in L.L. and was omitted in O.Fr. and It., but it was restored in M.E. spelling in words borrowed from O.Fr., and often later in pronunciation, too. Thus Mod.Eng. has words ultimately from L. with missing -h- (e.g. able, from L. habile); with a silent -h- (e.g. heir, hour); with a formerly silent -h- now vocalized (e.g. humble, honor); and even a few with an excrescent -h- fitted in confusion to words that never had one (e.g. hostage, hermit). Relics of the formerly unvoiced -h- persist in pedantic insistence on an historical (object) and in obs. mine host. The use in digraphs (e.g. -sh-, -th-) goes back to the ancient Gk. alphabet, which used it in -ph-, -th-, -kh- until -H- took on the value of a long "e" and the digraphs acquired their own characters. The letter passed into Roman use before this evolution, and thus retained there more of its original Sem. value.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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h
noun
1.	a nonmetallic univalent element that is normally a colorless and odorless highly flammable diatomic gas; the simplest and lightest and most abundant element in the universe [syn: hydrogen]
2.	a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second [syn: henry]
3.	the constant of proportionality relating the energy of a photon to its frequency; approximately 6.626 x 10^-34 joule-second [syn: Planck's constant]
4.	the 8th letter of the Roman alphabet
5.	(thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity equal to the internal energy of a system plus the product of its volume and pressure; "enthalpy is the amount of energy in a system capable of doing mechanical work" [syn: heat content]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Abbreviation of height
The symbol for Planck's constant.

The symbol for henry.
The symbol for hydrogen.

hydrogen (hī'drə-jən) Pronunciation Key
Symbol H

The lightest and most abundant element in the universe, normally consisting of one proton and one electron. It occurs in water in combination with oxygen, in most organic compounds, and in small amounts in the atmosphere as a gaseous mixture of its three isotopes (protium, deuterium, and tritium) in the colorless, odorless compound H₂. Hydrogen atoms are relatively electropositive and form hydrogen bonds with electronegative atoms. In the Sun and other stars, the conversion of hydrogen into helium by nuclear fusion produces heat and light. Hydrogen is used to make rocket fuel, synthetic ammonia, and methanol, to hydrogenate fats and oils, and to refine petroleum. The development of physical theories of electron orbitals in hydrogen was important in the development of quantum mechanics. Atomic number 1; atomic weight 1.00794; melting point -259.14°C; boiling point -252.8°C; density at 0°C 0.08987 gram per liter; valence 1. See Periodic Table. See Note at oxygen.

h abbr.
The symbol for Planck's constant..

H
The symbol for the element hydrogen.

Main Entry: h
Function: abbreviation
1 height
2 Etymology: Latin hora
hour —used in writing prescriptions; —see QH

Main Entry: H
Function: abbreviation
heroin

Main Entry: H
Function: symbol
hydrogen

Main Entry: H
Pronunciation: 'Ach-'w&n-
Function: noun
: any of numerous drugs (as cetirizine) that bind competitively with histamine to H₁receptors on cell membranes and are used variously as sedatives, antiemetics, and anticholinergics called also H₁ receptor antagonist

Main Entry: H
Function: noun
: H

Main Entry: H
Function: noun
: a receptor for histamine on cell membranes that modulates the dilation of blood vessels and the contraction of smooth muscle —see H

Main Entry: H
Function: noun
: H

Main Entry: H
Pronunciation: -'tü-
Function: noun
: a drug (as cimetidine, famotidine, nizatidine, or ranitidine) that reduces or inhibits the secretionof gastric acid by binding competitively with histamine to H₂ receptors on cell membranes called also H₂ receptor antagonist

Main Entry: H
Function: noun
: H

Main Entry: H
Function: noun
: a receptor for histamine on cell membranes that modulates the stimulation of heart rate and the secretion of gastric acid called alsoH₂ histamine receptor; —see H

Main Entry: H
Function: noun
: H

H

A Nasdaq stock symbol specifying that it is the second preferred bond of the company.

Investopedia Commentary

Nasdaq-listed securities have four or five characters. If a fifth letter appears, it identifies the issue as other than a single issue of common stock or capital stock.

Used in stock transaction tables in newspapers to indicate that during the day's activity the stock traded at a new 52-week high price.

h
1. A simple markup language intended for quick conversion of existing text to hypertext.
2. A method of marking common words to call attention to the fact that they are being used in a nonstandard, ironic, or humorous way. Originated in the fannish catchphrase "Bheer is the One True Ghod!" from decades ago. H-infix marking of "Ghod" and other words spread into the 1960s counterculture via underground comix, and into early hackerdom either from the counterculture or from SF fandom (the three overlapped heavily at the time). More recently, the h infix has become an expected feature of benchmark names (Dhrystone, Rhealstone, etc.); this follows on from the original Whetstone (the name of a laboratory) but may have been influenced by the fannish/counterculture h infix.
[The Jargon File]
(1994-11-04)

[from SF fandom] A method of `marking' common words, i.e., calling attention to the fact that they are being used in a nonstandard, ironic, or humorous way. Originated in the fannish catchphrase "Bheer is the One True Ghod!" from decades ago. H-infix marking of `Ghod' and other words spread into the 1960s counterculture via underground comix, and into early hackerdom either from the counterculture or from SF fandom (the three overlapped heavily at the time). More recently, the h infix has become an expected feature of benchmark names (Dhrystone, Rhealstone, etc.); this is probably patterning on the original Whetstone (the name of a laboratory) but influenced by the fannish/counterculture h infix.

Jargon File 4.2.0
Cite This Source

H\ ([=a]ch), the eighth letter of the English alphabet, is classed among the consonants, and is formed with the mouth organs in the same position as that of the succeeding vowel. It is used with certain consonants to form digraphs representing sounds which are not found in the alphabet, as sh, th, [th], as in shall, thing, [th]ine (for zh see [sect]274); also, to modify the sounds of some other letters, as when placed after c and p, with the former of which it represents a compound sound like that of tsh, as in charm (written also tch as in catch), with the latter, the sound of f, as in phase, phantom. In some words, mostly derived or introduced from foreign languages, h following c and g indicates that those consonants have the hard sound before e, i, and y, as in chemistry, chiromancy, chyle, Ghent, Ghibelline, etc.; in some others, ch has the sound of sh, as in chicane. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 153, 179, 181-3, 237-8.

Note: The name (aitch) is from the French ache; its form is from the Latin, and this from the Greek H, which was used as the sign of the spiritus asper (rough breathing) before it came to represent the long vowel, Gr. [eta]. The Greek H is from Ph[oe]nician, the ultimate origin probably being Egyptian. Etymologically H is most closely related to c; as in E. horn, L. cornu, Gr. ke`ras; E. hele, v. t., conceal; E. hide, L. cutis, Gr. ky`tos; E. hundred, L. centum, Gr. 'e-kat-on, Skr. [.c]ata.

H piece (Mining), the part of a plunger pump which contains the valve.

H\ (h[add]). (Mus.) The seventh degree in the diatonic scale, being used by the Germans for B natural. See B.

height
hour
Planck's constant

enthalpy
Hamiltonian
handicapped accessible
haze
henry
heroin
Hispanic
hit
humidity
Hungary (international vehicle ID)
hydrogen

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