put the/a hurt on

idiom

US, informal

: to injure or damage (someone or something)

If we adopt a more aggressive strategy, we can really put the hurt on our competitors.

Examples of put the/a hurt on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And then Detroit put a hurt on the Niners in the NFC Championship Game. —

Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 3 Feb. 2024 Though most closely associated with bass fishing, Rat-L-Traps will put the hurt on trophy pike, lake trout, striped bass, and even saltwater species like speckled seatrout and redfish. —

Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 4 Jan. 2024 Senate Bill 1820 in the Texas Legislature would put a hurt on these outside companies. —

Dave Lieber, Dallas News, 27 Apr. 2023 That could put a hurt on the Bengals’ push to return to the Super Bowl. —

Tim Bielik, cleveland, 3 Nov. 2022 Most popular these days are big bores designed to put the hurt on large, sometimes ornery critters. —

Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 2 Nov. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'put the/a hurt on.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near put the/a hurt on

put that/it out of one's mind

put the/a hurt on

put the cart before the horse

See More Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

Style

“Put the/a hurt on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/put%20the%2Fa%20hurt%20on. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

Copy Citation