hurdle
Americannoun
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hurdles
plural
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a portable barrier over which contestants must leap in certain running races, usually a wooden frame with a hinged inner frame that swings down under impact to prevent injury to a runner who does not clear it.
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(used with a singular verb) hurdles, a race in which contestants must leap over a number of such barriers placed at specific intervals around the track.
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any of various vertical barriers, as a hedge, low wall, or section of fence, over which horses must jump in certain types of turf races, as a steeplechase, but especially an artificial barrier.
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a difficult problem to be overcome; obstacle.
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Chiefly British. a movable rectangular frame of interlaced twigs, crossed bars, or the like, as for a temporary fence.
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a frame or sled on which criminals, especially traitors, were formerly drawn to the place of execution.
verb (used with object)
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hurdles,
present (3rd person singular)
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hurdled,
past participle, past
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hurdling
present participle
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to leap over (a hurdle, barrier, fence, etc.), as in a race.
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to master (a difficulty, problem, etc.); overcome.
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to construct with hurdles; enclose with hurdles.
verb (used without object)
-
hurdles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hurdled,
past participle, past
-
hurdling
present participle
noun
-
-
athletics one of a number of light barriers over which runners leap in certain events
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a low barrier used in certain horse races
-
-
an obstacle to be overcome
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a light framework of interlaced osiers, wattle, etc, used as a temporary fence
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a sledge on which criminals were dragged to their executions
verb
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to jump (a hurdle, etc), as in racing
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(tr) to surround with hurdles
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(tr) to overcome
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hurdlesimple
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hurdlessimple
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have hurdledperfect
-
has hurdledperfect
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am hurdlingprogressive
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are hurdlingprogressive
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is hurdlingprogressive
-
have been hurdlingperfect progressive
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has been hurdlingperfect progressive
Past
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hurdledsimple
-
had hurdledperfect
-
was hurdlingprogressive
-
were hurdlingprogressive
-
had been hurdlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hurdle
before 900; Middle English hirdel, hurdel (noun), Old English hyrdel, equivalent to hyrd- + -el noun suffix; compare German Hürde hurdle; akin to Latin crātis hurdle, wickerwork, Greek kýrtos basket, cage, Sanskrit kṛt spin
Explanation
A hurdle is a barrier or other obstacle that a runner has to jump over during a race. If you trip on a hurdle, you probably won't win the race. When they're doing certain types of races, both human and horse athletes have to leap across hurdles (sometimes other animals do this too, like dogs and even rabbits). To do this is also to hurdle. There are physical hurdles, and then there are their figurative counterparts — those difficulties or hurdles that prevent you from progressing in your life.
Vocabulary lists containing hurdle
Vocabulary of the Summer Olympics
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This Feb. 29: 15 Words for "Leap"
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Might As Well Jump: Words For Leap Year
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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.
See Examples For:
That’s the hurdle Brooks must clear to receive any money from the state.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
Caldentey says Arsenal came up short last season through inconsistency and hopes the signings will help overcome that hurdle.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Gen. Todd Blanche has a cleared critical hurdle in his bid to be confirmed to the post after swaying Republican holdouts on a Senate committee to advance his nomination for a floor vote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Discovery, as the entertainment and media mega-deal still faces a key hurdle in the United States.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Next was the boys one-hundred-meter hurdle, which was the most exciting thing I had ever seen.
From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds
But the company’s AI strategy has faced internal culture clashes and organizational hurdles since the very beginning.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
It was Great Britain's third gold of the championships, while Emily Newnham added the hosts' sixth medal overall with silver in the women's 400m hurdles final shortly after Hudson-Smith's victory.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Reforms made over the last two years mean that companies listing in London can offer fewer shares for sale, spend less on distributing company information to analysts, and face fewer hurdles in acquiring other companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Public health experts have long advised that the combined shot offers children more protection faster, and also decreases the logistical hurdles for parents who may struggle to make multiple appointments.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
To pull it off, Ulbrickson knew, he was going to have to clear a series of imposing hurdles.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
More broadly, investors have flipped their views on software companies and platforms that potentially could be replaced by AI or hurdled over by new competitors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Daniel was tapped to run consumer products, and five months later, he hurdled over more experienced executives to lead a massive new and controversial business unit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2022
Another rookie, Jake Ferguson, provided a highlight a few plays earlier when he hurdled New York safety Jason Pinnock and ran over cornerback Rodarius Williams on the same play.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 25, 2022
Thompson-Robinson also hurdled cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart on the way to another touchdown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2022
Ruthanne and I hurdled chairs to reach the back.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
“We’re building AI compute capacity at scale faster than anyone else, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday, adding that “the industry is hurdling towards ever more compute demands.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Copper’s technical position is similar to where gold was in March 2024, when it broke out decisively from its 13-year base by hurdling $2,200.
From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025
His first headline in The Times was accompanied by a photo of him hurdling tacklers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2024
The triumph vindicated Mullins' decision to skip hurdling and go straight over fences with the seven-year-old.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2024
Angie comes into the lane two over from me to practice hurdling, and I catch her eyes and try and send her a whole lot of words in that one look.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
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.
