hurry
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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a state of urgency or eagerness.
to be in a hurry to meet a train.
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hurried movement or action; haste.
- Antonyms:
- deliberation
verb
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to hasten (to do something); rush
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to speed up the completion, progress, etc, of
noun
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haste
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urgency or eagerness
-
informal
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easily
you won't beat him in a hurry
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willingly
we won't go there again in a hurry
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Synonym Usage
See rush 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hurrysimple
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hurriessimple
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have hurriedperfect
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has hurriedperfect
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am hurryingprogressive
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are hurryingprogressive
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is hurryingprogressive
-
have been hurryingperfect progressive
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has been hurryingperfect progressive
Past
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hurriedsimple
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had hurriedperfect
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was hurryingprogressive
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were hurryingprogressive
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had been hurryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hurry
First recorded in 1580–90; expressive word of uncertain origin, compare Middle English horyed (attested once) “rushed, impelled,” Middle High German hurren “to move quickly”
Explanation
To hurry is to rush, or to move quickly. If you're late for a movie and you don't want to miss the beginning, you'll have to hurry into the theater, not stopping to buy popcorn. When you're out for a walk and the sun begins to set, you might hurry home before it gets dark — in other words, move rapidly, or in haste. You can also hurry someone else, encouraging them to speed up. Your math teacher may criticize your sloppy work by commenting, "Looks like you were in a hurry." Hurry is one of many words that were invented by William Shakespeare, who used it frequently.
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.
His second book, Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, is out this week and simply cannot be read for enjoyment.
From Slate • Feb. 25, 2026
And on “Brand New City,” she takes in the scene surrounding her, noting that “‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ plays on the stereo,” while “We quote all our friends / Like they’re round-table poets.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025
Would I have liked to have heard full versions of “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Baby Love” and “Stop! In the Name of Love”? Sure.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 26, 2025
But in "Hurry Up Tomorrow," the Ethiopian-Canadian singer is seemingly breaking free of the shackles of "The Weeknd" moniker.
From Salon • Feb. 22, 2025
“I just want you to go home and change. You only live around the block. Hurry up.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
