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.
Noun
He won a medal in the high hurdles.
The company faces severe financial hurdles this year. Verb
The horse hurdled the fence.
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Noun
By removing financial hurdles, the Randy Smith Junior Tour aims to reverse that trend and create a pipeline of talent for future generations.—Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Oct. 2025 Federal student loan borrowers have faced hurdles because of the ongoing legal challenges to Save.—Danielle Douglas-Gabriel The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2025
Verb
Horn was called for holding, but the penalty didn’t matter, as Pickens ran past the cornerback before hurdling safety Nick Scott for a 31-yard gain that put the Cowboys on the cusp of the end zone for their first touchdown.—Charlotte Observer, 12 Oct. 2025 In the first half of Baylor's 48-7 win at CPA, the five-star junior running back juked a defender and smoothly hurdled clean over another on his way to the end zone, but the hurdle — which isn't allowed in high school football — drew a penalty which negated the play.—Jacob Shames, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hurdle
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English hurdel, from Old English hyrdel; akin to Old High German hurt hurdle, Latin cratis wickerwork, hurdle
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
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