hurl

[hurl]

verb (used with object)

1. to throw or fling with great force or vigor.

   Synonyms: pitch, cast

2. to throw or cast down.

3. to utter with vehemence.

   to hurl insults at the umpire.

verb (used without object)

1. to throw a missile.

2. Baseball.,  to pitch a ball.

noun

1. a forcible or violent throw; fling.

hurl

/ hɜːl /

verb

1. (tr) to throw or propel with great force

2. (tr) to utter with force; yell

   to hurl insults

3. to transport or be transported in a driven vehicle

noun

1. the act or an instance of hurling

2. a ride in a driven vehicle

Other Word Forms

• hurler noun
• outhurl verb (used with object)
• unhurled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hurl¹

1175–1225; Middle English hurlen, equivalent to hur- (perhaps akin to hurry ) + -len -le; akin to Low German hurreln to toss, Frisian hurreln to roar (said of the wind), dialectal German hurlen to roll, rumble (said of thunder)

Word History and Origins

Origin of hurl¹

C13: probably of imitative origin

Example Sentences

Drug Enforcement Administration when a supervisor from another office stormed in hurling profanities.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In one case, the driver got out and began hurling racial slurs at the group of Latino farmworkers he had slammed into.

Read more on Salon

Perched in his art-filled château in the south of France, the British expatriate spent years hurling invectives at, falling out with or blatantly undermining an astonishing number of people.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Men and women speed up and down the hall, hurling about 15kg of metal straight into each other.

Read more on BBC

However, “the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable facts.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• fire 
• fling 
• heave 
• lob 
• sling