glitch

noun

ˈglich

Synonyms of glitch next

: a usually minor malfunction

a glitch in a spacecraft's fuel cell

also : bug entry 1 sense 2

: a minor problem that causes a temporary setback : snag

: a false or spurious electronic signal

glitchy

ˈgli-chē

adjective

Did you know?

There's a glitch in the etymology of glitch—it may come from the Yiddish glitsh, meaning "slippery place," but that's not certain. Print use of glitch referring to a brief unexpected surge of electrical current dates to the mid-20th century. Astronaut John Glenn, in his 1962 book Into Orbit, felt the need to explain the term to his readers: "Literally, a glitch is a spike or change in voltage in an electrical circuit which takes place when the circuit suddenly has a new load put on it." Today, the word can be used of any minor malfunction or snag. If you’re a gamer you might even take advantage of a glitch that causes something unexpected, and sometimes beneficial, to happen in the game.

Examples of glitch in a Sentence

Glitches in the speaker's schedule caused some delays. A technical glitch caused a temporary shutdown.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Arizona Secretary of State's Office and Apache County officials confirmed in statements to The Arizona Republic that there was a technical glitch impeding that process on Tuesday morning. —

Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 6 Nov. 2024 Temperatures in the low 70s and few polling place glitches made for a mostly smooth experience. —

Detroit Free Press Staff, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024 Toyota’s Japanese manufacturing plants crank out about 13,500 new vehicles every day—but last year, 14 of them were knocked offline for 24 hours by a single software glitch. —

Chris Turlica, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024 Polling places in West Fork and Greenland were running smoothly with no glitches and short or no lines early Tuesday. —

Ron Wood, arkansasonline.com, 5 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for glitch