as in doors
a barrier by which an entry is closed and opened
watertight hatches provided access through the ship's bulkheads
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Recent Examples of hatches
Gavin Escott, USA Today, 20 May 2026
When not in use, both tubes can be folded back against the helmet, lowering the center of gravity for greater comfort and reducing the risk of the device banging into door frames or vehicle hatches, which tends to make squad leaders rather cross.
—David Szondy
may 17, New Atlas, 17 May 2026
Once hatches are opened, the spacecraft will be unloaded by Crew 12 commander Jessica Meir and her three crewmates, pilot Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 15 May 2026
Bilco, had been in West Haven since 1953, making roof access hatches, fire vents, floor access doors, basement doors and intrusion detection systems, among other products there.
—Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2026
After the sinking, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported the Ursa Major was carrying port cranes and hatches designed to cover the nuclear reactors of a new icebreaker being built in Vladivostok.
—Pau Mosquera, CNN Money, 12 May 2026
At the time, his high school was on the brink of shutting down—but the then-teenager battened down the hatches, studied hard, and became class valedictorian.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
During this stage of the descent, Orion will be engulfed in a fireball, flickering plasma igniting outside the window hatches.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 9 Apr. 2026
On the shipwreck the hatches are fastened properly.
—Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026
Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
With time running out to beat Russia, NASA hatches an 11th-hour plan to replace a veteran astronaut (Duvall) with a civilian geologist (Caan) for a one-way moon trip using a modified Gemini spacecraft.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 30 Mar. 2026
After successfully impersonating Sarah Kim as a customer in luxury shops across the city, Mi-jeong hatches a plan to kill Sarah Kim and take her place.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
With her daughter back in Madrid waiting for a solid offer for the apartment, Maria hatches a plan.
—G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Feb. 2026
Feeling bored, resentful and trapped by domestic life, Hedda hatches a plan to destroy her husband’s potential career rival, Eilert Lovberg, who happens to be her ex-lover.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
In desperation, Yoo hatches a chilling yet darkly logical plan.
—Robert Lang, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
In the holiday rom-com, a single mother (Alexandra Breckenridge) hatches a scheme to dress up as an old man and get a job at an upscale ski resort to snag her daughter discount snowboard lessons.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
There’s Mary Carr (Erin Doherty), queen of the female gang the Forty Elephants, who’s sick of stealing from the poor and hatches a scheme to yoink valuables from the Queen of England.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Noun
Bug season, which peaks late spring to early summer, is about to usher in massive hatches of mosquitoes, ticks and other insects.
—Gavin Escott, USA Today, 20 May 2026
When not in use, both tubes can be folded back against the helmet, lowering the center of gravity for greater comfort and reducing the risk of the device banging into door frames or vehicle hatches, which tends to make squad leaders rather cross.
—David Szondy
may 17, New Atlas, 17 May 2026
Once hatches are opened, the spacecraft will be unloaded by Crew 12 commander Jessica Meir and her three crewmates, pilot Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 15 May 2026
Bilco, had been in West Haven since 1953, making roof access hatches, fire vents, floor access doors, basement doors and intrusion detection systems, among other products there.
—Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2026
After the sinking, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported the Ursa Major was carrying port cranes and hatches designed to cover the nuclear reactors of a new icebreaker being built in Vladivostok.
—Pau Mosquera, CNN Money, 12 May 2026
At the time, his high school was on the brink of shutting down—but the then-teenager battened down the hatches, studied hard, and became class valedictorian.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
During this stage of the descent, Orion will be engulfed in a fireball, flickering plasma igniting outside the window hatches.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 9 Apr. 2026
On the shipwreck the hatches are fastened properly.
—Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026
Verb
Trump’s obsession with gold has led his critics to compare him to the Bond villain Goldfinger, a bullion dealer who hatches a plan to irradiate the gold in Fort Knox in order to increase the value of his own supply.
—Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
With time running out to beat Russia, NASA hatches an 11th-hour plan to replace a veteran astronaut (Duvall) with a civilian geologist (Caan) for a one-way moon trip using a modified Gemini spacecraft.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 30 Mar. 2026
After successfully impersonating Sarah Kim as a customer in luxury shops across the city, Mi-jeong hatches a plan to kill Sarah Kim and take her place.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
With her daughter back in Madrid waiting for a solid offer for the apartment, Maria hatches a plan.
—G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Feb. 2026
Feeling bored, resentful and trapped by domestic life, Hedda hatches a plan to destroy her husband’s potential career rival, Eilert Lovberg, who happens to be her ex-lover.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
In desperation, Yoo hatches a chilling yet darkly logical plan.
—Robert Lang, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
In the holiday rom-com, a single mother (Alexandra Breckenridge) hatches a scheme to dress up as an old man and get a job at an upscale ski resort to snag her daughter discount snowboard lessons.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
There’s Mary Carr (Erin Doherty), queen of the female gang the Forty Elephants, who’s sick of stealing from the poor and hatches a scheme to yoink valuables from the Queen of England.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hatches
Noun
-
All rooms feature wheelchair-accessible doors, lowered peepholes, light switches, and closet door handles; a roll-in shower or tub with grab bars; and teletypewriters and telecommunications devices available upon request.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 May 2026
-
The shop officially opened its doors to ice cream lovers May 8 near the Charlotte Premium Outlets in Steele Creek, according to the brand’s social media channels.—
Tanasia Kenney,
Charlotte Observer,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
The coupling that El Niño spawns between the atmosphere and the warmer water along the Equator tends to create sinking winds over the Atlantic that disrupt cloud formations that could otherwise become hurricanes.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
Hating cops also spawns ridiculous protests, like the ones that called for police to be defunded.—
Wendy Murphy,
Boston Herald,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
On the reverse side were the locations of the seventy-two teams that make up the first three divisions of the National League System, which sits below the English Football League.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
-
In the spring of 2015, Syrian military forces bore down on Jisr al-Shughur, which sits at a strategic juncture along a majorhighway.—
Emily Feng,
NPR,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Veteran model Eva Herzigova is pictured in a sculptural skirt suit, while Liu Wen broods in a puffy leather bomber jacket.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
Verb
-
In one scene, Little Death lays outrageously bloody waste to the frisky incoming counselors of Camp Miasma (played by Zach Cherry, Quintessa Swindell, and Eva Victor, among others) in a long take set to a needle drop that shouldn’t be spoiled but that adds up to something worthy of blissing out to.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
14 May 2026
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Others, however, see a more positive road ahead for the rapid deployment of renewables not only in Cuba, but also elsewhere, as the costs of clean tech continue to fall and geopolitical turbulence lays bare the perils of relying on fossil fuel imports.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
That particular section, which sets new standards around warehouse operations and gives employees more information about company quotas and biometric surveillance, has drawn pushback from CBIA.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
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What sets a muffuletta, that iconic sandwich from New Orleans, apart from other sandwiches similarly stuffed with assorted deli meats is the olive salad that’s slathered across the bread.—
Shilpa Uskokovic,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hatches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hatches. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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