n. 1. One who hits or strikes; as, a hard hitter. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Baseball) The batter; as, there are two strikes on the hitter. [ PJC ]

heavy hitter 1. A baseball player who gets many extra-base hits. 2. A person who is very important or is very effective at his profession. [ PJC ]

n. [ vb. n. from hit, v. ] The act of striking one thing against another; as, repeated hitting raised a large bruise
Syn. -- hit, striking. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ From Heb. Khittīm Hittites. ] A member of an ancient people (or perhaps group of peoples) whose settlements extended from Armenia westward into Asia Minor and southward into Palestine. They are known to have been met along the Orontes as early as 1500 b. c., and were often at war with the Egyptians and Assyrians. Especially in the north they developed a considerable civilization, of which numerous monuments and inscriptions are extant. Authorities are not agreed as to their race. While several attempts have been made to decipher the Hittite characters, little progress has yet been made. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Elec.) Rays (chiefly cathode rays) developed by the electric discharge in Hittorf tubes. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Elec.) (a) A highly exhausted glass tube with metallic electrodes nearly in contact so as to exhibit the insulating effects of a vacuum. It was used by the German physicist W. Hittorf (b. 1824). (b) A Crookes tube. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]