hurl

verb

ˈhər(-ə)l 

hurled; hurling ˈhər-liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: rush, hurtle

2

: pitch sense 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 sense 2a

4

: to utter with vehemence

hurled insults at the police

hurl noun

hurler

ˈhər-lər 

noun

Synonyms of hurl

• vomit

Choose the Right Synonym for 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.

can throw a fastball and a curve

cast usually implies lightness in the thing thrown and sometimes a scattering.

cast it to the winds

toss suggests a light or careless or aimless throwing and may imply an upward motion.

tossed the coat on the bed

fling stresses a violent throwing.

flung the ring back in his face

hurl implies power as in throwing a massive weight.

hurled himself at the intruder

pitch suggests throwing carefully at a target.

pitch horseshoes

sling stresses either the use of whirling momentum in throwing or directness of aim.

slung the bag over his shoulder

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 on the Web

Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates hurled a 2-0 no-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader against the San Diego Padres. —Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026

Protests outside the gates have shown activists pummeling cars, impeding the exits and in some cases getting hurled out of the way after collisions with vehicles attempting to speed away from the violent activists. —Eric MacK, FOXNews.com, 8 June 2026

That charge was filed after security camera video showed that Case had hurled an object in his neighbor’s yard. —Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026

The massive gun, which was transported in two pieces and took as many as eight hours to set up, could hurl 360-pound shells as far as 14 miles. —Kevin Maurer, The Atlantic, 6 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing hurl

• throw/hurl/toss a monkey wrench into

Rhymes for hurl

• burl
• churl
• earl
• girl
• merl
• merle
• perle
• swirl
• twirl
• whirl
• whorl
• cowgirl

Kids Definition

hurl

verb

ˈhər(-ə)l 

hurled; hurling ˈhər-liŋ 

1

: to throw violently or powerfully

2

: pitch entry 3 sense 6a

3

: vomit entry 2

hurler

ˈhər-lər 

noun