hurt
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause bodily injury to; injure.
He was badly hurt in the accident.
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to cause bodily pain to or in.
The wound still hurts him.
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to damage or decrease the efficiency of (a material object) by striking, rough use, improper care, etc..
Moths can't hurt this suit because it's mothproof.
Dirty oil can hurt a car's engine.
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to affect adversely; harm.
to hurt one's reputation;
It wouldn't hurt the lawn if you watered it more often.
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to cause mental pain to; offend or grieve.
She hurt his feelings by not asking him to the party.
verb (used without object)
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to feel or suffer bodily or mental pain or distress.
My back still hurts.
- Synonyms:
- ache
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to cause bodily or mental pain or distress.
The blow to his pride hurt most.
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to cause injury, damage, or harm.
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to suffer want or need.
noun
adjective
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physically injured.
The hurt child was taken to the hospital.
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offended; unfavorably affected.
hurt pride.
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suggesting that one has been offended or is suffering in mind.
Take that hurt look off your face!
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damaged.
hurt merchandise.
verb
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to cause physical pain to (someone or something)
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to cause emotional pain or distress to (someone)
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to produce a painful sensation in (someone)
the bruise hurts
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informal (intr) to feel pain
noun
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physical, moral, or mental pain or suffering
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a wound, cut, or sore
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damage or injury; harm
adjective
noun
Usage
And is hurted in the dictionary? Hurted is not listed as a word in this dictionary. It’s not used as the standard past tense of hurt, nor is it commonly used in any other way. (General note: Just because a word doesn’t appear in the dictionary doesn’t necessarily mean it’s “not a word.” Some people may use it, and if enough people eventually start using it, it may be added to the dictionary.)
What’s the past tense of hurt?
The past tense of hurt is simply hurt. Example: I hurt my arm yesterday. Because the past tense is not formed with -ed, it’s an example of an irregular verb. Like hurt, the past tense form of many other irregular verbs is the same as the present tense. Many common ones are also short words that end in t, such as set, hit, cut, shut, put, and quit.Synonym Usage
See injury.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have hurtperfect
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has hurtperfect 3rd person singular
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is hurtingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been hurtingperfect progressive
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has been hurtingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am hurtingprogressive 1st person singular
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hurtssingular 3rd person
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are hurtingprogressive
-
hurtingparticiple
Past
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had been hurtingperfect progressive
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had hurtperfect
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were hurtingprogressive plural
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was hurtingprogressive singular
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hurtparticiple
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hurtsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of hurt
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English verb hurten, hirten, herten “to injure, damage, stumble, knock together,” apparently from Old French hurter “to knock (against), oppose” (compare French heurter, originally dialectal), probably a verbal derivative of Frankish unattested hûrt “ram,” cognate with Old Norse hrūtr; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
If you have a party and no one shows up, you will probably feel hurt: emotionally injured by what's happened. Hurt comes from the Old French hurte, meaning "collision," or "blow." We still have that violent sense in our word hurtle but we use hurt for a whole range of pains. If you stub your toe, it hurts, and if someone is beating you up you might say, "Stop hurting me!" Someone injured in battle or in sports is described as hurt. If you say something you shouldn't on live radio, you'll hurt your chances of winning an election.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The insurer’s stock has fallen on worries new account-opening rules could hurt new-business growth in AIA’s mainland Chinese visitor segment, he says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
"Of course it doesn't feel nice and it should be like that because this is not what we wanted. There was disappointment and there was hurt," Wiegman added.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
Excluding those impacts, organic sales fell 3%, hurt by weaker snack demand and weather-related shipment disruptions during January.
From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026
No one was seriously hurt, but it had the potential to be catastrophic because of the presence of a highly toxic chemical on-site that can penetrate skin, officials said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
Was he hurt that I hadn’t told him?
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
