What does hatch mean?
Word: Hatch
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Hatch means to break out of an egg, as a baby bird, turtle or fish does.
How do you spell hatch?
Syllables: hatch
Tricky part: A t comes before ch. Children who write what they hear often leave it out and spell hach.
Watch out for: hach, hatsh, hacht
Memory tip: Hear a baby bird tapping its way out of the shell: t-ch, t-ch. Let that tapping remind you of the t before the ch.
Idioms and Phrases
- count your chickens before they hatch: To feel sure of something good before it has really happened. Example: "Rehaan said he had already won, but Mum told him not to count his chickens before they hatch."
Hatch in a sentence
Example 1: The ducklings will hatch next week.
Example 2: Our class watched a quail egg hatch in an incubator.
Example 3: The hen sat on her eggs until they hatched.
Fun Fact
A hen's egg usually takes about 21 days to hatch.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) bus : buses
b) hatch : hatches
c) fox : foxs
d) box : boxes
Show answer
c) fox : foxs. Fox adds es to become foxes, just like box.
Spellacadabra
Choose the option in which the following letters will fit in the given order:
a
a) d_tch
b) h_tch
c) f_tch
d) cl_tch
Show answer
b) h_tch. With a in the gap, h_tch becomes hatch; the others need e, i and u (fetch, ditch, clutch).
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
tchah
a) to break out of an egg
b) to cut wood into small pieces
c) to look after a baby
d) to hit a ball with a bat
Show answer
a) to break out of an egg. The letters form hatch, which is what baby birds do.
Sound Check
Which of the following words does not rhyme with hatch?
a) latch
b) patch
c) catch
d) watch
Show answer
d) watch. Watch looks like the others, but its a sounds like the o in hot.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these does NOT hatch from an egg?
a) a chick
b) a duckling
c) a calf
d) a tadpole
Show answer
c) a calf
2. Where does a mother sea turtle lay the eggs that later hatch?
a) high up in a tree
b) in a nest of sticks
c) in the sand on a beach
d) inside a cave wall
Show answer
c) in the sand on a beach
