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

Did you know?

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

• scurry
• rush
• speed
• hurry
• race
• fly
• jump
• drive
• travel
• trot
• chase
• zip
• run
• blow
• scoot
• dart
• scuttle
• buzz

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

The dual-launch coaster will send riders hurtling toward a cavern in the base of Wonder Mountain before transitioning to a vertical stretch of track that will send them rocketing toward the mountain’s peak at 72 mph. —Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 10 July 2025

The movie has pummeling battles, giant plushy troll monsters, characters hurtling through space, and a general air of ballistic wizardry. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 8 July 2025

While that really isn't saying much, at least Deep Impact sends a team of astronauts (led by Robert Duvall) rather than drillers to deal with the comet hurtling toward Earth, deflecting Ben Affleck's famous critique of Armageddon. —Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 3 July 2025

Barriers lifted in advance, Mellor and his French Resistance passengers hurtled through at 80mph leaving guards little chance of spotting the night-time ruse. —Iain MacAuley, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025

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

Rhymes for hurtle

• fertile
• kirtle
• myrtle
• turtle
• infertile

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