hurries; hurried; hurrying
1
: to move, act, or go quickly
Take your time. There's no need to hurry.
She hurried off to her class.
He hurried after her.
They hurried past us.
Hurry (back) home now.
We hurried through the lesson so that we could finish early.
We'll miss our flight if we don't hurry. = If we don't hurry we'll miss our flight.
—often + upIf we don't hurry up we'll miss our flight.
Hurry up! We're going to be late!
2
a
: to make (someone) move, act, or go quickly
She hates to be hurried [=rushed] at dinner.
The teacher hurried us through the lesson.
—often + upSomebody needs to hurry them up so we can leave.
Could you hurry it up a little please? [=could you please do what you are doing a little more quickly?]
b
: to carry or send (someone or something) more quickly than usual
They hurried the children off to bed.
A messenger hurried [=rushed] the package across town.
3
a
: to increase the speed of (something)
He heard the train coming and hurried his pace. [=he began to walk more quickly]
b
: to do (something) quickly or too quickly
Don't hurry [=rush] your homework.
The quarterback was forced to hurry his throw.
: a need to do something more quickly than usual : rush
"Come on, let's go." "What's the (big) hurry?" [=why do we need to hurry?]
Why the hurry?
Take your time. There's no (great) hurry.
In her hurry to leave she forgot her briefcase.
Cite this Entry
“Hurry.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/hurry. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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