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.
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 WebDonald Trump is hurtling toward a critical deadline in his most costly legal battle to date.—Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024 And as the story hurtles toward 1970 (there’s a highly amusing space-race subplot), the powdery, gauzy town of Palm Beach becomes louder, zanier, and more outlandish—with preppy Lilly Pulitzer swapped out for psychedelic Pucci.—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2024 The increasingly bitter contest is hurtling toward a climax on April 3, when Disney will hold its annual shareholder meeting and proxy votes will be counted.—Lauren Hirsch, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2024 DeSantis dropped out of the Republican presidential primary last month shortly after losing the Iowa caucuses, and endorsed former President Donald Trump, who is now hurtling toward the GOP nomination.—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 22 Feb. 2024 Titanic is famous for James Cameron's special effects that sent hundreds of passengers realistically hurtling from the side of a giant ship, but it's mainly remembered for the timeless love story between soulful vagabond Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and repressed socialite Rose (Kate Winslet).—Lia Beck, EW.com, 6 Feb. 2024 The Gaza Strip is hurtling toward a famine that humanitarian officials say is largely of Israel’s making.—Sammy Westfall, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 The story hurtles through a year of chaos, and the ride turns shakier when the tone shifts to straight dramatic thriller.—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 While the early primary results suggest the country is hurtling toward a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, many Americans believe alternative candidates could be swapped in.—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 19 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hurtle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English hurtlen to collide, frequentative of hurten to cause to strike, hurt
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