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)
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hurdles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hurdled,
past participle, past
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hurdling
present participle
noun
-
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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
-
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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
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has hurdledperfect
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am hurdlingprogressive
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are hurdlingprogressive
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is hurdlingprogressive
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have been hurdlingperfect progressive
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has been hurdlingperfect progressive
Past
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hurdledsimple
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had hurdledperfect
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was hurdlingprogressive
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were hurdlingprogressive
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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:
But, with Warholm a distant second, Tokyo 2025 silver medallist Dos Santos cantered off the final hurdle and pushed through to clock 45.80 seconds.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
By paying close attention to the documents you sign while onboarding, you can relieve yourself of one hurdle during the job hunting process.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Securing the approval of California regulators — the deal’s final hurdle — has been a slog as federal officials gave Charter their consent months ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Discovery, as the entertainment and media mega-deal still faces a key hurdle in the United States.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
In my first effort to get over this hurdle, I had some little leaflets printed.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
First, Brazil's Alison dos Santos defied expectations to smash the 400m hurdles world record.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
The S&P 500 has three hurdles to clear before a move to 8,000, says this strategist.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
But much like its characters, faced with unimaginable hurdles in a world stacked against them, Ullom’s film found a way to keep going, aided by uniquely modern tools and a singular perspective.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
OpenAI has been grappling with legal hurdles too.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Angie jogs over and asks me to do a few hurdles so she can see how I’m doing.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
In 2018, Cofnas argued in a paper that technology would soon allow this unknown to be hurdled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
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
He topped that in the second quarter with a 33-yard run in which he hurdled another defender and outmaneuvered several others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2022
Matthew Jester intercepted a pass on a 2-point conversion attempt and he hurdled the quarterback during a 100-yard return.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 29, 2022
Gum Baby bounced on my shoulder and nearly fell off as I hurdled a stump.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
“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
The unused veteran was stretchered off and taken to hospital for surgery after hurting himself hurdling an advertising board in the victory celebrations.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 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
They had reached the end of a hurdling sprint, too.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
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.
