hurtle

verb

hur·​tle ˈhər-tᵊl 

hurtled; hurtling ˈhər-tᵊl-iŋ 

ˈhərt-liŋ

intransitive verb

: to move rapidly or forcefully

transitive verb

: hurl, fling

hurtle noun

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Hurdle vs. Hurtle

Indistinguishable in speech, the words hurtle and hurdle can be a confusing pair.

Hurtle is a verb with two meanings: "to move rapidly or forcefully," as in "The stone was hurtling through the air," and "to hurl or fling," as in "I hurtled the stone into the air." Note that the first use is intransitive: the stone isn't hurtling anything; it itself is simply hurtling. The second use is transitive: something was hurtled—in this case, a stone.

Hurdle is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, its most common meanings have to do with barriers: the ones that runners leap over, and the metaphorical extension of these, the figurative barriers and obstacles we try to similarly overcome. The verb hurdle has two meanings, and they are directly related to these. It can mean "to leap over especially while running," as in "She hurdled the fence," and it can mean "to overcome or surmount," as in "They've had to hurdle significant financial obstacles." The verb hurdle is always transitive; that is, there's always a thing being hurdled, whether it be a physical obstacle or a metaphorical one.

Synonyms

• barrel
• belt
• blast
• blaze
• blow
• bolt
• bomb [slang]
• bowl
• breeze
• bundle
• bustle
• buzz
• cannonball
• careen
• career
• chase
• course
• crack (on)
• dash
• drive
• fly
• hare
• hasten
• hie
• highball
• hotfoot (it)
• hump
• hurl
• hurry
• hustle
• jet
• jump
• motor
• nip
• pelt
• race
• ram
• rip
• rocket
• run
• rush
• rustle
• scoot
• scurry
• scuttle
• shoot
• speed
• step
• tear
• travel
• trot
• whirl
• whisk
• zip
• zoom

Examples of hurtle in a Sentence

Boulders hurtled down the hill.

We kept to the side of the road as cars and trucks hurtled past us.

The protesters hurtled bottles at the police.

He hurtled himself into the crowd.

Recent Examples on the Web

Even in a sport where being fit and determined is a minimum, the Spaniard hurtling up and down Atlético Madrid’s flank—a habit for over five years—has become a trademark of his game. —Henry Flynn, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024

In the first episode of the series, viewers are shown the catastrophic impact this had, with dead bodies hurtling down from the sky. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024

The clock and watcher are hurtling through space in different motions. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 30 Nov. 2024

That accelerating birth rates, especially in the developing world, were outstripping the Earth’s resources and hurtling the planet toward widespread famine. —Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English hurtlen to collide, frequentative of hurten to cause to strike, hurt

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids Definition

hurtle

verb

hur·​tle ˈhərt-ᵊl 

hurtled; hurtling ˈhərt-liŋ 

-ᵊl-iŋ

1

: to move suddenly or violently

boulders hurtled down the hill

2

: hurl sense 1, fling