Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

glitches

 - 4 dictionary results

glitch

  [glich] Slang.
Use glitches in a Sentence
–noun
1. a defect or malfunction in a machine or plan.
2. Computers. any error, malfunction, or problem. Compare bug 1 (def. 5).
3. a brief or sudden interruption or surge in voltage in an electric circuit.
–verb (used with object)
4. to cause a glitch in: an accident that glitched our plans.
Origin:
1960–65; perh. < Yiddish glitsh slippery area; cf. glitshn, G glitschen to slip, slide
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To glitches
glitch   (glĭch)   
n.  

  1. A minor malfunction, mishap, or technical problem; a snag: a computer glitch; a navigational glitch; a glitch in the negotiations.

  2. A false or spurious electronic signal caused by a brief, unwanted surge of electric power.

  3. Astronomy A sudden change in the period of rotation of a neutron star.


[Probably from Yiddish glitsh, a slip, lapse, from glitshn, to slip, from Middle High German glitschen, alteration of glīten, to glide, from Old High German glītan; see ghel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
glitch'y adj.
Word History: Although glitch seems a word that people would always have found useful, it is first recorded in English in 1962 in the writing of John Glenn: "Another term we adopted to describe some of our problems was 'glitch.' " Glenn then gives the technical sense of the word the astronauts had adopted: "Literally, a glitch is a spike or change in voltage in an electrical current." It is easy to see why the astronauts, who were engaged in a highly technical endeavor, might have generalized a term from electronics to cover other technical problems. Since then glitch has passed beyond technical use and now covers a wide variety of malfunctions and mishaps.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
glitch [glɪtʃ]

  1. n.
    a defect; a bug. : There is a glitch in the computer program somewhere.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

glitch 
1962, Amer.Eng., possibly from Yiddish glitsh "a slip," from glitshn "to slip," from Ger. glitschen, and related gleiten "to glide." Perhaps directly from Ger.; it began as technical jargon in the argot of electronic hardware engineers, popularized and given a broader meaning by U.S. space program.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see glitches on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way