To save this word, you'll need to log in.
\ ˈərj 
\
\urged; urging
Definition of urge
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to present, advocate, or demand earnestly or pressingly
his conviction was upheld on a theory never urged at his … trial— Leon Friedman
2 : to undertake the accomplishment of with energy, swiftness, or enthusiasm
urge the attack
b : to serve as a motive or reason for
urged by a sense of duty
4 : to force or impel in an indicated direction or into motion or greater speed
the dog urged the sheep toward the gate
: to declare, advance, or press earnestly a statement, argument, charge, or claim
urged for the adoption of the proposal
urge
nounDefinition of urge (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : the act or process of urging
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms for urge
Synonyms: Verb
Synonyms: Noun
- appetency,
- appetite,
- craving,
- desire,
- drive,
- hankering,
- hunger,
- itch,
- jones
- [slang],
- letch,
- longing,
- lust,
- passion,
- pining,
- thirst,
- thirstiness,
- yearning,
- yen
Examples of urge in a Sentence
Verb
He is continually urging reform.
The rescuers urged that we remain calm.
an editorial urging readers to vote
I urge you to reconsider.
A hand on her back urged her forward. Noun
the urge for something sweet
He fought the urge to cry.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The group’s organizers seek input from community members to urge decision-makers to create a new economic road map for the state.
—
USA TODAY, "Casinos, churches, contact tracing: News from around our 50 states," 22 May 2020 President Xi Jinping is using the country’s success — and the criticism against it — to urge the party and the people to weather tough days ahead.
—
Victoria Shannon, New York Times, "Vaccines, U.S. Reopenings, Flour Frenzy: Your Thursday Briefing," 21 May 2020 Trump has been trying to urge its use for months now.
—
David Meyer, Fortune, "The man who made Moderna," 19 May 2020 Some Alaskans have begun holding rallies to urge a second dividend.
—
James Brooks, Anchorage Daily News, "Veto fights and dividend struggles sank Alaska Legislature’s attempt to speed pandemic aid," 18 May 2020 State officials continue to urge Oregonians to avoid all non-essential travel, including day trips, and for those in urban areas to not travel more than 50 miles from home to recreate.
—
oregonlive, "More state parks reopen on the Oregon coast, from Lincoln City to Florence," 15 May 2020 Haiti, for its part, has established a presidential panel to urge ICE to halt the flights, and Florida Congresswoman Federica Wilson has introduced a bill to cease them entirely.
—
Laura Weiss, The New Republic, "Trump’s Deportation Flights Are Inflaming the Pandemic," 14 May 2020 Nirenberg and County Judge Nelson Wolff continue to urge residents to wear their masks in most public settings and to maintain a 6-foot social distance from others out in public to help ensure there’s no resurgence of the deadly disease.
—
Elizabeth Zavala, ExpressNews.com, "Novel coronavirus cases total cracks 2,000 in San Antonio area; one more death at nursing home reported," 14 May 2020 Alabama’s fastest-growing city, Fairhope, in neighboring Baldwin County, are urging residents to stop irrigating their lawns, while water levels are at alarming low levels.
—
al, "Wildfire and water restrictions: ‘Severe drought’ impacting coastal Alabama," 14 May 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The urge to get outside and do some driving hits today.
—
BostonGlobe.com, "Horoscope," 5 May 2020 Of course, in this disconnect between urge and action, a fecund interiority awaits.
—
Sara Lippmann, Washington Post, "Anna Solomon’s ‘Book of V’ will please fans of ‘The Hours’ with its sprawling take on a biblical tale," 4 May 2020 The answer that leapt out is suddenly relevant to our coronavirus shutdown: In almost every case, the urge to collude arose from a desire to maintain industrial capacity that had become temporarily uneconomic.
—
Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, "Government Punts to Business," 1 May 2020 But the urge to engage with performance, whether as actor or audience member, isn’t going away.
—
Matt Wolf, New York Times, "To Restart After Lockdown, Theaters Need to Think Small," 30 Apr. 2020 Dallasites with the urge to let their hair down -- perhaps scoffing at rules forcing residents to stay at home -- face increased scrutiny from their neighbors and, possibly, code enforcement or police.
—
Cassandra Jaramillo, Dallas News, "‘Corona’ parties, loud music disturbances are up during shelter-in-place orders," 3 Apr. 2020 Resist the urge to panic, and instead verify your loved one’s whereabouts, Stokes says.
—
oregonlive, "Liz Weston: Seeing elderly relatives over the holidays? Here are popular scams to put on their radar," 23 Dec. 2019 Even for those with permission, the urge to see the city slowly wanes, eventually dying out.
—
Diane Grosklaus Whitty, Harper's magazine, "Senior Portrait," 16 Sep. 2019 From her point of view, that urge to explore is partly why winegrowers came to the mountains in the first place.
—
Fortune, "Napa Mountain Wines Have Just as Much to Offer as Napa Valley Bottles," 8 Sep. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'urge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for urge
urge
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of urge
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to ask people to do or support (something) in a way that shows that you believe it is very important
: to try to persuade (someone) in a serious way to do something
: to use force or pressure to move (someone or something) in a particular direction or at a particular speed
urge
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of urge (Entry 2 of 2)
: a strong need or desire to have or do something
See the full definition for urge in the English Language Learners Dictionary
urge
verb\ ˈərj \
\urged; urging
Kids Definition of urge
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to try to get (something) accepted : argue in favor of
She's always urging reform.
2 : to try to convince
He urged his guests to stay.
3 : force entry 2 sense 1, drive His dog urged the sheep onward.
urge
nounKids Definition of urge (Entry 2 of 2)
: a strong desire
She had the urge to laugh.
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on urge
What made you want to look up urge? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
May 2020 Words of the Day Quiz
- Which is a synonym of exiguous?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Share urge
Time Traveler for urge
The first known use of urge was circa 1555
See more words from the same year