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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.
Examples of hurtle in a Sentence
Craig Morgan Teicher, Literary Hub, 1 June 2026
This executive blindness extends across the entire tech industry, creating an economic doom loop that is hurtling toward a massive financial bust.
—Sunil Sharan, Fortune, 27 May 2026
Morey could not calculate that McCain would hurtle toward Wembanyama in a series that demands nerve.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 23 May 2026
But that thematic potential is diluted in a movie that keeps hurtling forward without gathering steam.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for hurtle
Cite this Entry
“Hurtle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hurtle. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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