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hurling

noun
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hurl·​ing | \ ˈhər-liŋ How to pronounce hurling (audio) \

Definition of hurling

: an Irish game resembling field hockey played between two teams of 15 players each
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Did You Know?

An Irish game resembling both field hockey and lacrosse, hurling is played between two teams of 15 players. The game is mentioned in Irish manuscripts dating back to the 13th century. The stick used—a tapered, slightly curved device with a cupped blade at the end—is called a hurley. A point is scored by hitting the ball over the crossbar of the opposing team’s goalposts, three points by driving it under the crossbar. Hurling is considered the national pastime of Ireland.

Examples of hurling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And he was preceded onstage by a pair of charming Los Angeles drag queens, Meatball and Pinche, whose act included the hurling of several McDonald’s cheeseburgers into the crowd. — Los Angeles Times, "Country singer Orville Peck has a secret. No, not that one," 4 Sep. 2019 Finally, camogie is the female equivalent of hurling, with the same rules and objectives. — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, "Dozen players named to represent Deer Park in Mustang all-star competition," 24 May 2018 This year, for the first time, Chicago’s GAA has no hurling teams, but Redmond said its one camogie club will travel to Midwestern tournaments this summer and to the finals in Philadelphia on Labor Day weekend. — Susan Demar Lafferty, Daily Southtown, "'Five times faster than soccer': Irish football draws fans of Old World sport to Oak Forest," 9 July 2018 At the Scottish Festival & Highland Games in suburban Itasca this weekend, there’s whiskey-tasting, haggis-hurling and men in kilts aplenty. — Robert Mccoppin, chicagotribune.com, "Want to be a Scottish lord or lady? Opportunity beckons at suburban festival, where 'titles' will be sold," 16 June 2018 Courtois was forced into another save shortly after - hurling himself to his left side to tip away a fierce, driven effort from Gayle. — SI.com, "Newcastle Soars to Win as Blundering Chelsea Misses Out on Champions League," 13 May 2018 Conservatives and liberals agreed the book offered no new information and that Comey lost credibility as an objective witness in the Russian investigation by throwing himself into the political fray and hurling insults at President Trump. — William Cummings, USA TODAY, "The Bubble: Conservatives and liberals agree James Comey's book didn't do him any favors," 18 Apr. 2018 The video depicts a short part of the response to a violent riot, which included rock hurling and attempts to sabotage the security fence, and lasted about two hours. — Oren Liebermann, CNN, "Video shows Israeli sniper shooting Palestinian as soldiers celebrate," 10 Apr. 2018 Ludgar and his fellow hurling machines threw boulders, but the historical records point to English forces employing more imaginative ammo, too. — William Gurstelle, Popular Mechanics, "The Legend of Ludgar the War Wolf, King of the Trebuchets," 1 May 2017

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

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First Known Use of hurling

1780, in the meaning defined above

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Statistics for hurling

Last Updated

14 Sep 2019

Time Traveler for hurling

The first known use of hurling was in 1780

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More from Merriam-Webster on hurling

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hurling

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with hurling

Nglish: Translation of hurling for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of hurling for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hurling

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