hurl
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to throw a missile.
-
Baseball. to pitch a ball.
noun
verb
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(tr) to throw or propel with great force
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(tr) to utter with force; yell
to hurl insults
-
to transport or be transported in a driven vehicle
noun
-
the act or an instance of hurling
-
a ride in a driven vehicle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hurlsimple
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hurlssimple
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have hurledperfect
-
has hurledperfect
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am hurlingprogressive
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are hurlingprogressive
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is hurlingprogressive
-
have been hurlingperfect progressive
-
has been hurlingperfect progressive
Past
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hurledsimple
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had hurledperfect
-
was hurlingprogressive
-
were hurlingprogressive
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had been hurlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hurl
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)
Explanation
When you hurl something, you throw it hard. You might hurl your shoe at a horrible bug if it suddenly scuttled across the floor. If you hurl a rock at a glass window, it will probably break, and if you hurl your trash in the direction of a garbage can, it may or may not land inside. The verb hurl implies some force behind your throw. The earliest English version was hurlen, which in the thirteenth century meant "run against each other or collide." It probably comes from the Germanic root hurr, which is also the root of hurry, and means "rapid motion."
Vocabulary lists containing hurl
"The Treasure of Lemon Brown"
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"My Wonder Horse," Vocabulary from the short story
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"Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson
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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:
To prove her historic hurl was no fluke, she came back with a 192-6 effort on her sixth and last throw.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
“He would hurl himself straight as an arrow right into the great roaring grey wall of an oncoming breaker and go clean through it as if it had neither weight nor momentum.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
Moments later his epic 54-yard hurl to Marvin Mims Jr paid off spectacularly, caught deep downfield.
From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026
This rapid rearrangement can heat plasma to millions of degrees and hurl energized particles away from the site, creating a solar flare.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 21, 2026
Jess was about to hurl more nuts and insulting remarks when the form of Cluny’s plan dawned on her.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
The reason anyone who hurls themselves off a mountain for a living might perform such a procedure is a matter of aerodynamics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
While he hurls baseless accusations and complaints in that episode, Funches presents a compelling case against another player, Atlanta Housewife Porsha Williams, at a banishment debate.
From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2026
As Nicola, Davidtz hurls herself into a hot-blooded, scenery-chomping performance in which her cheekbones and nerves get harsher as the film goes on.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2025
But if Mr. Macron doesn’t bend, he risks cementing his image as “Jupiter,” who hurls down orders from above and takes counsel from few, analysts say.
From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2023
She tears them off the line and hurls them back into the basket.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
A little: Those who haven’t read the first 4 will open “The End of the Arab of the Future” and find themselves hurled directly into an unfolding family emergency: Vol.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
Last week, Letterman visited Colbert’s show, where both men took to the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater and hurled CBS property off the ledge.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
But as he hurled his partner high above the ice, he was thrown off balance by grammar and umlauts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
Disgusted, McGrath hurled his poles over the safety netting that lined the Stelvio piste, with nearby Swiss team members embracing each other in celebration.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
My heart was in my throat as I hurled myself off my mount and raced to her side.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Since then, restaurant chains have been hurling discounts and deals at consumers to win them back.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
A video widely circulated online showed a number of people, including one wielding a hurling stick, confronted the attacker until police officers arrived at the scene.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Mr. Hanks does not feel, like some others, that he has to sell us on the importance of the subject at hand, hurling superlatives like hand grenades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
President Trump is known for hurling scathing insults at world leaders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
On Stanton’s orders, Lafayette Baker staged a mock burial, wrapping the “body” in a horse blanket and publicly hurling it into the Potomac.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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.
