hurry

[hur-ee, huhr-ee]

See more synonyms for hurry on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), hur·ried, hur·ry·ing.

to move, proceed, or act with haste (often followed by up): Hurry, or we'll be late. Hurry up, it's starting to rain.

verb (used with object), hur·ried, hur·ry·ing.

to drive, carry, or cause to move or perform with speed.
to hasten; urge forward (often followed by up).
to impel or perform with undue haste: to hurry someone into a decision.

noun, plural hur·ries.

a state of urgency or eagerness: to be in a hurry to meet a train.
hurried movement or action; haste.

Origin of hurry

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

Related formshur·ry·ing·ly, adverbo·ver·hur·ry, verb, o·ver·hur·ried, o·ver·hur·ry·ing.un·hur·ry·ing, adjectiveun·hur·ry·ing·ly, adverb

Synonyms for hurry

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1. See rush¹. 2. hasten. 3. accelerate, quicken; expedite, hustle. 6. celerity; expedition, dispatch; speed, quickness; bustle, ado.

Antonyms for hurry

3. delay, slow. 6. deliberation.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for hurrying

flying, running, dashing, racing, rushing, darting, expediting, propelling, speeding, scurrying

Examples from the Web for hurrying

Contemporary Examples of hurrying

And the faster our hurrying, the more acute our tunnel vision becomes.
Chris Christie and the Runaway High-Speed Presidency Train
James Poulos
January 11, 2014
Andrew was now hurrying to join Weiner in a waiting black SUV.
Weiner’s Desperate Rockaway Trip
Michael Daly
August 1, 2013
Cato was not hurrying out of the world to escape an even more painful ending, but to avoid the humiliation of pardon.
Who Was the Real Cato?
David Frum
December 20, 2012
As the “Frankenstorm” barrels toward the East Coast, politicians are hurrying to minimize its impact.
Here Comes Hurricane Sandy: East Coast Scrambles
Eliza Shapiro
October 28, 2012
An administrator and a teacher were seen averting their eyes and hurrying off.
Life and Death at Suicide High
Lucinda Franks
March 31, 2010

Historical Examples of hurrying

Before we reached the lobby, John came from somewhere, hurrying towards us.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
I thought only of hurrying to Prof. Darmstetter that he might share my triumph.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
A chattering and hurrying of people could be heard as an undertone.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
Sami saw that they were hurrying to the house; he followed slowly after.
What Sami Sings with the Birds
Johanna Spyri
But the boy had only a glimpse of these things, for his father was hurrying on.
Buried Cities, Part 2
Jennie Hall

British Dictionary definitions for hurrying

hurry

verb -ries, -rying or -ried

(intr often foll by up) to hasten (to do something); rush
(tr often foll by along) to speed up the completion, progress, etc, of

noun

haste
urgency or eagerness
in a hurry informal
1. easilyyou won't beat him in a hurry
2. willinglywe won't go there again in a hurry

Derived Formshurrying, noun, adjectivehurryingly, adverb

Word Origin for hurry

C16 horyen, probably of imitative origin; compare Middle High German hurren; see scurry

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hurrying

hurry

1590, first recorded in Shakespeare, who used it often; perhaps a variant of harry (v.), or perhaps a West Midlands sense of Middle English hurren "to vibrate rapidly, buzz," from Proto-Germanic *hurza "to move with haste" (cf. Middle High German hurren "to whir, move fast," Old Swedish hurra "to whirl round"), which also perhaps is the root of hurl. Related: hurried; hurrying.

hurry

c.1600, probably from hurry (v.).