glitch
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glitch
- /ˈɡlɪt͡ʃ/
Rhymes with -ɪtʃ
Where it comes from
Probably borrowed from Yiddish גליטש (glitsh), from German glitschig (“slippy”), from glitschen (“to slide, glide, slip”) + -ig (“-y”). Related to gleiten (“glide”). Cognate with French glisser (“to slip, slide, skid”).
Popularized in the 1960s, by the US space program. Attested in 1962 by American astronaut John Glenn, in reference to spikes in electrical current.
noun glitches
-
A problem affecting function.
They are still trying to work out all the glitches.
Similar: bug, hitch, imperfection, quirk, gremlin
- An unexpected behavior in an electrical signal, especially if the signal spontaneously returns to expected behavior after a period of time. Another term we adopted to describe some of our problems was "glitch." 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. You have probably noticed a dimming of lights in your home when you turn a switch
- A bug or an exploit. Performing this glitch gives you extra lives.
- A genre of experimental electronic music since the 1990s, characterized by a deliberate use of sonic artifacts that would normally be viewed as unwanted noise. You can hear this in the contemporary genre of ‘glitch’, where artists like Oval and Fennesz make radically beautiful music using the snaps, crackles and pops emitted by damaged CDs, malfunctioning software, etc.
- A sudden increase in the rotational frequency of a pulsar.
verb glitches · glitching · glitched
- To experience an unexpected, typically intermittent malfunction. My computer keeps glitching; every couple of hours it just reboots without warning.
- To perform an exploit or recreate a bug while playing a video game. His character will glitch into the wall and out of the level.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: bug, defect, fault, malfunction, error, mistake, imbalance, failure, disorder, default, abnormality, anomaly, problem, trouble, disruption, breakdown
Translations
Every language
noun problem, bug, imperfection, quirk
| Español | tara, falla, fallo |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 故障 gùzhàng |
| Português | falha, falha técnica, problema técnico, avaria, anomalia |
| Français | hic, pépin, os |
| Deutsch | Störung, Fehler, Macke |
| Русский | глюк gljuk, сбой sboj, баг bag |
noun video games: bug or exploit
| Español | tara, falla, fallo, glitch |
|---|---|
| Português | falha, falha técnica, problema técnico, avaria, anomalia |
| Français | bogue |
| Deutsch | Glitch |
noun music: genre of electronic music
| Русский | глитч glitč |
|---|
verb Translations
| Español | fallar, glichear, experienciar un problema técnico |
|---|
Talk about this word "glitch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/glitch. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. glitch. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/glitch "glitch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/glitch.Cite this
@misc{glitch_2026,
title = {glitch},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/glitch},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
