To flirt with or make romantic advances toward someone, or to discover or think of something by chance.
To try to get someone to like you in a romantic way, OR to suddenly think of a good idea.
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To make romantic or sexual advances toward someone, often in an unsolicited way.
"A man at the bar kept hitting on her even after she said she wasn't interested."
He's hitting on you, genius.
— The Big Bang Theory, Season 1, Episode 1 (2007)
To discover or think of something, especially a good idea or solution, often by accident.
"After hours of brainstorming, the team finally hit on the perfect marketing strategy."
To make contact with something — the jump to 'flirt' or 'discover' is fully idiomatic.
To try to get someone to like you in a romantic way, OR to suddenly think of a good idea.
The flirting sense is predominantly American English and can carry a mildly unwelcome connotation (unsolicited advances). In British English, 'chat up' is more common for this sense. The 'discover an idea' sense is standard in both varieties.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "hit on" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.