hurt
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to cause bodily injury to; injure.
He was badly hurt in the accident.
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to cause bodily pain to or in.
The wound still hurts him.
-
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.
-
to affect adversely; harm.
to hurt one's reputation;
It wouldn't hurt the lawn if you watered it more often.
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to cause mental pain to; offend or grieve.
She hurt his feelings by not asking him to the party.
verb (used without object)
-
to feel or suffer bodily or mental pain or distress.
My back still hurts.
- Synonyms:
- ache
-
to cause bodily or mental pain or distress.
The blow to his pride hurt most.
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to cause injury, damage, or harm.
-
to suffer want or need.
noun
adjective
-
physically injured.
The hurt child was taken to the hospital.
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offended; unfavorably affected.
hurt pride.
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suggesting that one has been offended or is suffering in mind.
Take that hurt look off your face!
-
damaged.
hurt merchandise.
verb
-
to cause physical pain to (someone or something)
-
to cause emotional pain or distress to (someone)
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to produce a painful sensation in (someone)
the bruise hurts
-
informal (intr) to feel pain
noun
-
physical, moral, or mental pain or suffering
-
a wound, cut, or sore
-
damage or injury; harm
adjective
noun
Usage
And is hurted in the dictionary? Hurted is not listed as a word in this dictionary. It’s not used as the standard past tense of hurt, nor is it commonly used in any other way. (General note: Just because a word doesn’t appear in the dictionary doesn’t necessarily mean it’s “not a word.” Some people may use it, and if enough people eventually start using it, it may be added to the dictionary.)
What’s the past tense of hurt?
The past tense of hurt is simply hurt. Example: I hurt my arm yesterday. Because the past tense is not formed with -ed, it’s an example of an irregular verb. Like hurt, the past tense form of many other irregular verbs is the same as the present tense. Many common ones are also short words that end in t, such as set, hit, cut, shut, put, and quit.Related Words
See injury.
Other Word Forms
- hurtable adjective
- hurter noun
- unhurt adjective
- unhurting adjective
Etymology
Origin of hurt
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English verb hurten, hirten, herten “to injure, damage, stumble, knock together,” apparently from Old French hurter “to knock (against), oppose” (compare French heurter, originally dialectal), probably a verbal derivative of Frankish unattested hûrt “ram,” cognate with Old Norse hrūtr; noun derivative of the verb
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.
Local Greens lawmaker Abigail Boyd told local broadcaster ABC she had been hurt by police at the march and posted a selfie to social media wearing a neck brace.
From Barron's
"I appreciate the honesty from the minister of health but it hurts deeply because more uncertainty looms," she told BBC News NI.
From BBC
Trade groups are raising alarms about aggressive immigration enforcement hurting businesses in the region.
That has hurt sales of original, patented brands much sooner in their product life cycles than the more traditional source of low-cost competition, generic drugs that enter the market after patents expire.
“Yes, there’s a lot of activity down here. As you attempted to say earlier, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.”
From Literature
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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.