hurtle

American  

[hur-tl] / ˈhɜr tl /

verb (used without object)

• hurtles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hurtled,
  past participle,  past
• hurtling
  present participle

1. to rush violently; move with great speed.

   The car hurtled down the highway.

   Synonyms:

   shoot, rush, race, fly, speed

2. to move or go noisily or resoundingly, as with violent or rapid motion.

   The sound was deafening, as tons of snow hurtled down the mountain.

3. Archaic. to strike together or against something; collide.

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verb (used with object)

• hurtles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hurtled,
  past participle,  past
• hurtling
  present participle

1. to drive violently; fling; dash.

2. Archaic. to dash against; collide with.

noun

1. Archaic. clash; collision; shock; clatter.

hurtle British  

/ ˈhɜːtəl /

verb

1. to project or be projected very quickly, noisily, or violently

2. rare (intr) to collide or crash

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• hurtling
  present
• hurtled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hurtle
  simple
• hurtles
  simple
• have hurtled
  perfect
• has hurtled
  perfect
• am hurtling
  progressive
• are hurtling
  progressive
• is hurtling
  progressive
• have been hurtling
  perfect progressive
• has been hurtling
  perfect progressive

Past

• hurtled
  simple
• had hurtled
  perfect
• was hurtling
  progressive
• were hurtling
  progressive
• had been hurtling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hurtle
  simple
• will have hurtled
  perfect
• will be hurtling
  progressive
• will have been hurtling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of hurtle

1175–1225; Middle English hurtle, equivalent to hurt ( en ) ( see hurt) + -le -le

Explanation

If you forcefully throw or fling something, you hurtle it. In a food fight, you may hurtle chocolate pudding across the room, but be prepared for someone to launch peas at you in retaliation. Duck! The verb hurtle also means to move rapidly, often with a rushing sound, and sometimes with seeming lack of control. If you are driving on wet, slippery roads at night, try not to drive fast and skid out of control — if you do, your car may seem to hurtle through the darkness! By the way, even though we can't feel it, the earth hurtles through space at approximately 67,000 miles per hour as it orbits the sun.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hurtle hurtles hurtled hurtling

As both companies hurtle toward an IPO, the philosophical and personal differences between their leadership have metastasized.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026

The accident, which saw the picture-postcard 19th-century Gloria tramway hurtle into a building after careering off the rails, shocked the Portuguese capital, laying bare fears over the safety of the popular yet ageing tourist attraction.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2025

The candidates, once leading characters in the American story, hurtle back into supporting roles or relative obscurity.

From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2024

It retells America’s early political history through jam-packed raps and musical numbers that hurtle through genres including hip-hop, pop and R&B.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2024

He was hungry and had a headache and felt that everything would be all right if he could only get out of here and run, hurtle himself through the streets, free from the terrible assignment.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

Hall could be heard exclaiming, as the unusual-looking raccoon hurtles across a pavement and up some nearby steps.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

As OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, hurtles toward a planned initial public offering this year, valued at around $850 billion, the question persists—how to determine whether decisions serve the company’s best interest or Altman’s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

A few months and one tutorial from Anthropic’s Claude AI model later, Marks’ latest investment memo has the header “AI hurtles ahead.”

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026

Shaped like a cursive C, it hurtles toward the Santa Monica shore.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2025

Hours later, he wakes to see the silhouette of an airplane blot stars as it hurtles east.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

On the boulevard itself, parking spots were filling up as drivers hurtled down the busy roadway.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

They jumped backwards out of the way as the car hurtled towards them and then the car sped off.

From BBC ● May 7, 2026

Pilot Jakob Mandlbauer was stretchered off after the bob hurtled down the track for a good 30 seconds on its side.

From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026

The storm that hurtled through Houston late Thursday surprised a city long accustomed to bouts of serious weather.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2024

Wheeling around, he hurtled back toward the ground, the Snitch held high in his hand.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Surveillance footage from March 22 captured the moment the plane smashed into the rescue vehicle as it crossed its path, sending both hurtling down the runway.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

Tech scion David Ellison’s proposed merger has been hurtling toward the finish line after securing approvals from the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

A billionaire buying a fashion magazine is akin to a plane hurtling toward the ground, only for a passenger to confidently take the controls, despite having zero flying experience.

From Salon ● May 6, 2026

A sport built to the glory of the internal combustion engine and propelled by the roar of the V-12 was hurtling into an era of electric vehicles and corporate responsibility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

Her second stride seemed longer; she hovered in the air for a split second before landing and then hurtling toward the sea.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

Related Words

• collide
• lunge
• scoot