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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Hatch Definition, Usage & Examples Explained (3 meaning)

Meaning 1：emerge from an egg (hatch)

hatch 🔊

/hætʃ/

v./n.

When a baby bird, fish, or reptile breaks out of its egg and comes into the world.

Hatch meaning illustrated by a baby chick emerging from its eggshell.

emerge from an egg 🔊

➕

/ɪˈmɜːrdʒ frəm ən eɡ/

v./n.

The process by which a young animal breaks out of its eggshell and is born.

📁 Category：Animal Protection 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Middle English *hacchen*, possibly from Old English *hæccan*, meaning 'to produce young'.

💡 Mnemonic

Think of a *match* that helps a chick *hatch* from its egg.

📖 Example

We watched in amazement as the baby turtle hatched from its sandy nest and made its way to the ocean. 🔊 We observed with great wonder the baby turtle emerging from its egg in the sandy nest and heading towards the sea.

🔗 Collocations

hatch an egg – to incubate an egg until a young animal emerges

hatch out – to emerge from an egg

hatch from – to come out of an egg or similar enclosure

🔄 Synonyms

emerge (v.) – to come out into view

break out (v. phr.) – to escape from confinement

be born (v. phr.) – to begin life

🚫 Antonyms

die (v.) – to stop living

perish (v.) – to die, especially in a violent or untimely way

🌱 Derivatives

hatchery (n.) – a place where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions

hatchling (n.) – a recently hatched animal

📖 Cultural Story

The verb 'hatch' has Germanic roots, related to Old Norse *hekjɑ* (to hatch). The metaphorical sense of devising plans emerged in the 17th century. The noun meaning 'opening' comes from medieval shipbuilding, referring to the opening in a deck.

Meaning 2：secretly devise (hatch)

hatch 🔊

/hætʃ/

v./n.

To secretly think up and plan something, often a tricky or clever idea.

Hatch a plan scene showing people secretly devising a scheme.

secretly devise 🔊

➕

/ˈsiːkrətli dɪˈvaɪz/

v./n.

To secretly formulate or develop a plan, idea, or scheme.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The children hatched a plan to surprise their mother with a homemade birthday cake. 🔊 The kids secretly devised a scheme to give their mother a surprise homemade birthday cake.

🔗 Collocations

hatch a plan – to formulate a detailed proposal for action

hatch a plot – to devise a secret, often sinister, plan

hatch a scheme – to invent a clever, sometimes deceitful, plan

🔄 Synonyms

devise (v.) – to plan or invent by careful thought

concoct (v.) – to make up a story or plan

plot (v.) – to secretly make plans to carry out something harmful

🚫 Antonyms

abandon (v.) – to give up completely

cancel (v.) – to decide that something planned will not happen

Meaning 3：small access door (hatch)

hatch 🔊

/hætʃ/

v./n.

A small door or opening in a floor, ceiling, or wall that you can open to go through or pass things.

Hatch door diagram showing a small access opening in a ceiling.

small access door 🔊

➕

/smɔːl ˈækses dɔːr/

v./n.

A small, often hinged, opening in a floor, ceiling, deck, or wall used for access or passage.

📁 Category：Buildings & Places 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

We pulled down the ladder from the attic hatch to bring down the old Christmas decorations. 🔊 We lowered the ladder attached to the small attic door in the ceiling to retrieve the old holiday decorations.

🔗 Collocations

access hatch – a small door providing entry to a confined space

escape hatch – a hatch intended for use as an emergency exit

hatch cover – a lid or door that seals a hatch

🔄 Synonyms

opening (n.) – a gap or hole allowing access

trapdoor (n.) – a door set into a floor or ceiling

doorway (n.) – an entrance into a building or room

🚫 Antonyms

wall (n.) – a solid vertical structure that encloses or divides an area

sealed surface (n.) – a continuous area with no openings

🌱 Derivatives

hatchback (n.) – a car with a rear door that opens upwards