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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
Amy Norton, SELF, 29 Mar. 2024
After a delay, the technical glitch causing the problem was resolved so that legislators could view the bill and debate resumed.
—Rebecca Grapevine, The Courier-Journal, 27 Mar. 2024
Economists and policymakers were quick to call the report a one-off, saying seasonal glitches and other data quirks often mess with the start of the year.
—Rachel Siegel, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
Last year, a glitch in the Federal Aviation Administration’s 30-year-old computer system grounded thousands of flights and caused the first nationwide stop on air travel since 9/11.
—Saahil Desai, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2024
Once interactions are sufficiently complex, even glitches can feel lifelike.
—Patrick House, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
However, the technical glitch has also affected the contactless payment system across all of its locations.
—Eva Rothenberg, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024
It can be used, for example, to give priority to traffic from streaming services over static web pages or downloads, so that users don’t see glitches in their streams.
—Peter Guest, WIRED, 28 Feb. 2024
Earlier this month, General Motors recalled nearly 820,000 pickup trucks because of a glitch that could cause the tailgate to open unexpectedly.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'glitch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Glitch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glitch. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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glitch
noun
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