hurl

play

verb \ ˈhər(-ə)l \

Definition of hurl

hurled; hurling play \ˈhər-liŋ\

intransitive verb

1 :rush, hurtle

2 :pitch 5a

3 :vomit

transitive verb

1 :to send or thrust with great vigor

the forces that were to be hurled against the Turks
—N. T. Gilroy

2 :to throw down with violence

3 a :to throw forcefully :fling

hurled the manuscript into the fire

hurled myself over the fence

b :pitch 2a

4 :to utter with vehemence

hurled insults at the police

—

hurl

noun

—

hurler

play \ˈhər-lər\ noun

See hurl defined for English-language learners

See hurl defined for kids

Examples of hurl in a Sentence

Someone hurled a rock through the window.
He hurled a chair at me.
It looked like she was going to hurl herself down the stairs.
The protesters hurled insults at us.

Recent Examples of hurl from the Web

The killing set off two days of riots throughout the city and hurled Charlotte into the nationwide debate over how police treat African Americans.

— michael gordon and anna douglas, charlotteobserver, "Before tie vote, review board member claimed Scott hearing was skewed toward police," 25 Aug. 2017
The United States and North Korea have gotten into an unusually tough war of words, with U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean news propaganda hurling threats at each another.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "These Are the Warning Signs That Would Indicate War in Korea Is About to Start," 16 Aug. 2017
Heat-hurling relievers come on for a batter or two.

— mark zeigler, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Did baseball's Steroid Era really ever end?," 16 July 2017
One ship had been hurled wholesale for a distance of about 400 yards, dashing it close to the shore, a total wreck with dead bodies battered and smashed lying all around in disorder.

— marc wortman, Smithsonian, "A Newly Discovered Diary Tells the Harrowing Story of the Deadly Halifax Explosion," 15 July 2017
The pure pleasure of hurling a 40-yard pass has driven her to attack her learning disability, improve her grades and win a verbal commitment to play lacrosse for the University of Oregon Ducks.

— isabel fattal, The Atlantic, "Bluegrass and Brain Rest: This Week’s Top 7 Education Stories," 14 July 2017
But as has been the case for years now, the angry, overwhelmingly black overflow crowd is hurling obscenity-laden invective at the commission—and particularly at Johnson, who is also African American.

— joe domanick, Los Angeles Magazine, "How the Police Commission Got the LAPD to Buy Into De-Escalation," 13 July 2017
This week's game of the week comes to us from Semple Stadium in Thurles, where Cork and Clare will tee it up in this year's Munster hurling final on Sunday.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "You Are Now Free to Have No Health Insurance," 7 July 2017
The somewhere-in-between Paxton who then hurled seven quality innings on June 27 (albeit against the horrendous Phillies)?

— SI.com, "15. Seattle Mariners (41–42, plus-0, LT: 14)," 2 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hurl.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of hurl

Middle English

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

hurl Synonyms

Synonyms

barf, gag, heave, vomit, puke, retch, spew, spit up, throw up, upchuck

Antonyms

crawl, creep, poke

Related Words

disgorge, regurgitate; eject, expel; nauseate

Near Antonyms

dally, dawdle, dillydally, drag, hang (around or out), lag, linger, loiter, poke, tarry; amble, lumber, plod, saunter, shuffle, stroll; decelerate, slow (down or up)

Synonym Discussion of hurl

throw, cast, toss, fling, hurl, pitch, sling mean to cause to move swiftly through space by a propulsive movement or a propelling force. throw is general and interchangeable with the other terms but may specifically imply a distinctive motion with bent arm.