Find the word definition

WordNet
hit the dirt

v. fall or drop suddenly, usually to evade some danger; "The soldiers hit the dirt when they heard gunfire" [syn: hit the deck]

Usage examples of "hit the dirt".

He tottered three steps on his heels and fell with arms outstretched, raising a puff of black ash as his back hit the dirt.

He'd learned that even before he took the soldier's oath, and had it reinforced when a fellow a few feet from him got smashed to a red smear for being a split second too slow to hit the dirt.

But the second a drop hit the dirt, it was as though they were all watching the scene in slow motion.

The falling ax was the signal for the rangers to hit the dirt, pulling their dogs down with them.

The shot lacked Rondon's accuracy and instead hit the dirt embankment, throwing soil and rock into the air and causing the Breen to step back out of reflex.

Benny Maestas hit the dirt in his first second, picked up a stone and furiously winged it at the pony, but missed and instead broke one of the headlights on the Body Shop and Pipe Queen truck.