hitch one's wagon to

English

Verb

hitch one's wagon to (third-person singular simple present hitches one's wagon to, present participle hitching one's wagon to, simple past and past participle hitched one's wagon to)

1. (chiefly US, idiomatic, informal) to rely on (someone or something) for success
   • 2020, Barack Obama, “Preface”, in A Promised Land, Crown:

     Finally, I wanted to tell a more personal story that might inspire young people considering a life of public service: how my career in politics really started with a search for a place to fit in, a way to explain the different strands of my mixed-up heritage, and how it was only by hitching my wagon to something larger than myself that I was ultimately able to locate a community and purpose for my life.

Derived terms

• hitch one's wagon to a star