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
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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
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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:
A big hurdle is getting enough jet engines, said Eveline Buchatskiy, managing partner of D3, one of Ukraine’s largest defense investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Twelve-year-old Ben is desperate to try protein powder but there's one hurdle: me, his mum.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Since she’s ahead in most reputable polls, Raman’s job for the night was not failing — and she cleared that low, low hurdle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
"The headline earnings numbers may still be very strong. But with expectations elevated, valuations demanding and Treasury yields near multi-decade highs, the investment hurdle has become higher as well," warned Charu Chanana at Saxo Markets.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
He felt slightly nervous at confronting the first hurdle of his Captaincy.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Despite the theoretical promise of the materials Entalpic identified, customers’ thin margins and risk aversion presented formidable hurdles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
AST SpaceMobile’s plan to build the first space-based cellular broadband network is encountering major hurdles.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Although a pardon could be signed "minutes after" taking office, various bureaucratic hurdles would prevent it from taking effect that same day, Thiago Bottino, a law professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Beyond the recognition, the experience felt spiritually transformative for the Guadalajara native; not the least because of the hurdles he overcame to bring it to fruition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Figures I’d start getting good with hurdles right when the season is about over.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
Mr. Walesa is now 82 and stouter than he was when he hurdled that fence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
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
Joel Allen, who was at Arrowhead Stadium for the game, said it was the first time his son hurdled a defender and kept running, as opposed to losing his footing and falling to the turf.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2022
He caught Mahomes’s pass and hurdled a defender into the end zone.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2022
She hurdled the low wall and took off running.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
“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
Then, with Russell off the pitch, Williams blasted over, and after that came the Faletau moment, the score disallowed for Murray hurdling a tackle in the preamble.
From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2025
Edwin Moses, the godfather of 400-meter hurdling, once theorized that the 10-hurdle race presented 31 moments for potential failure, beginning with the start and including every takeoff, flight and landing over all 10 hurdles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2024
I leaped off the stage, hurdling a group of men.
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
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