hurly-burly
Americannoun
plural
hurly-burliesadjective
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of hurly-burly
1520–30; alteration of hurling ( and ) burling, rhyming phrase based on hurling in its (now obsolete) sense of tumult, uproar
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.
Perhaps this can be done in the midst of the hurly-burly of the professional world, but it’s not easy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
But mostly for my parents, who had worked so hard for so many years to create a refuge from the hurly-burly of the outside world.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2025
The petite 20-year-old has carved out a small patch of influence in the male-dominated hurly-burly of Kenyan politics, in the informal settlement of Kibra in the capital, Nairobi, where she lives.
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2022
Writing in the present tense, Scurati immerses us in the hurly-burly of politics on the ground.
From Washington Post • Apr. 6, 2022
The hurly-burly of Washington, D.C., made him dizzy.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
