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hurt

[hurt]
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verb (used with object), hurt, hurt·ing.
  1. to cause bodily injury to; injure: He was badly hurt in the accident.
  2. to cause bodily pain to or in: The wound still hurts him.
  3. to damage or decrease the efficiency of (a material object) by striking, rough use, improper care, etc.: Moths can't hurt this suit because it's mothproof. Dirty oil can hurt a car's engine.
  4. to affect adversely; harm: to hurt one's reputation; It wouldn't hurt the lawn if you watered it more often.
  5. to cause mental pain to; offend or grieve: She hurt his feelings by not asking him to the party.
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verb (used without object), hurt, hurt·ing.
  1. to feel or suffer bodily or mental pain or distress: My back still hurts.
  2. to cause bodily or mental pain or distress: The blow to his pride hurt most.
  3. to cause injury, damage, or harm.
  4. to suffer want or need.
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noun
  1. a blow that inflicts a wound; bodily injury or the cause of such injury.
  2. injury, damage, or harm.
  3. the cause of mental pain or offense, as an insult.
  4. Heraldry. a rounded azure.
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adjective
  1. physically injured: The hurt child was taken to the hospital.
  2. offended; unfavorably affected: hurt pride.
  3. suggesting that one has been offended or is suffering in mind: Take that hurt look off your face!
  4. damaged: hurt merchandise.
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Origin of hurt

1150–1200; (v.) Middle English hurten, hirten, herten to injure, damage, stumble, knock together, apparently < Old French hurter to knock (against), oppose (compare French heurter, orig. dial.), probably a verbal derivative of Frankish *hûrt ram, cognate with Old Norse hrūtr; (noun) Middle English < Old French, derivative of the v.
Related formshurt·a·ble, adjectivehurt·er, nounun·hurt, adjectiveun·hurt·ing, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for hurt on Thesaurus.com
3. mar, impair. 5. afflict, wound. 6. ache. 10. See injury. 12. cut, slight.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hurt

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Oh, I see—and of course you'd like your revenge—carrying me off from him just to hurt him.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • I was so disappointed and hurt and heartsick, and he kissed me and soothed me.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • But you thought the girl had cut loose from you, and it hurt you.

  • I don't wish to hurt you, but I must be perfectly honest with myself and with you.

  • The woman was not at all of a bad sort, only her dignity was hurt.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for hurt

hurt1

verb hurts, hurting or hurt
  1. to cause physical pain to (someone or something)
  2. to cause emotional pain or distress to (someone)
  3. to produce a painful sensation in (someone)the bruise hurts
  4. (intr) informal to feel pain
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noun
  1. physical, moral, or mental pain or suffering
  2. a wound, cut, or sore
  3. damage or injury; harm
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adjective
  1. injured or pained physically or emotionallya hurt knee; a hurt look
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Derived Formshurter, noun

Word Origin

C12 hurten to hit, from Old French hurter to knock against, probably of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse hrūtr ram, Middle High German hurt a collision

hurt2

whort (hwɜːt)

noun
  1. Southern English dialect another name for whortleberry
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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 hurt

v.

c.1200, "to injure, wound" (the body, feelings, reputation, etc.), also "to stumble (into), bump into; charge against, rush, crash into; knock (things) together," from Old French hurter "to ram, strike, collide," perhaps from Frankish *hurt "ram" (cf. Middle High German hurten "run at, collide," Old Norse hrutr "ram"). The English usage is as old as the French, and perhaps there was a native Old English *hyrtan, but it has not been recorded. Meaning "to be a source of pain" (of a body part) is from 1850. To hurt (one's) feelings attested by 1779. Sense of "knock" died out 17c., but cf. hurtle. Other Germanic languages tend to use their form of English scathe in this sense (cf. Danish skade, Swedish skada, German schaden, Dutch schaden).

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n.

c.1200, "a wound, an injury;" also "sorrow, lovesickness," from hurt (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with hurt

hurt

see not hurt a fly.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.