hurry

American  

[hur-ee, huhr-ee] / ˈhɜr i, ˈhʌr i /

verb (used without object)

hurried, hurrying

1. to move, proceed, or act with haste (often followed byup ).

   Hurry, or we'll be late. Hurry up, it's starting to rain.

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verb (used with object)

hurried, hurrying

1. to drive, carry, or cause to move or perform with speed.

   Synonyms:

   hasten

2. to hasten; urge forward (often followed byup ).

   Synonyms:

   hustle, expedite, quicken, accelerate

   Antonyms:

   slow, delay

3. to impel or perform with undue haste.

   to hurry someone into a decision.

noun

plural

hurries

1. a state of urgency or eagerness.

   to be in a hurry to meet a train.

2. hurried movement or action; haste.

   Synonyms:

   ado, bustle, quickness, speed, dispatch, expedition, celerity

   Antonyms:

   deliberation

hurry British  

/ ˈhʌrɪ /

verb

1. to hasten (to do something); rush

2. to speed up the completion, progress, etc, of

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noun

1. haste

2. urgency or eagerness

3. informal

   1. easily

      you won't beat him in a hurry

   2. willingly

      we won't go there again in a hurry

Related Words

See rush ¹.

Other Word Forms

• hurrying noun
• hurryingly adverb
• overhurry verb
• unhurrying adjective
• unhurryingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of hurry

First recorded in 1580–90; expressive word of uncertain origin, compare Middle English horyed (attested once) “rushed, impelled,” Middle High German hurren “to move quickly”

Example Sentences

As much of a temptation it may be to leave your job right now, take advantage of those wonderful gifts — and don’t hurry a huge life decision.

From MarketWatch

In one video, some people start to hurry for an exit stairwell while shouting.

From BBC

Kraft Heinz employees said the market-leading product was due for an upgrade, but with $1 billion worth of it selling every year, executives weren’t in a hurry.

From The Wall Street Journal

Pride believes it is unlikely that the increasingly debt-fueled tech boom would go south in a hurry.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mia began her work on an authentic stitch-by-stitch copy of the original 11th Century embroidery in 2016 "because I just wanted something to do and needed a project I couldn't finish in a hurry".

From BBC

Related Words

• dash
• hasten
• hustle
• jog
• rush
• scoot
• scurry
• whirl
• whisk
• zip