hurtle

[ hur-tl ]

/ ˈhɜr tl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hurtle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), hur·tled, hur·tling.

to rush violently; move with great speed: The car hurtled down the highway.

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.

Archaic. to strike together or against something; collide.

verb (used with object), hur·tled, hur·tling.

to drive violently; fling; dash.

Archaic. to dash against; collide with.

noun

Archaic. clash; collision; shock; clatter.

Nearby words

Origin of hurtle

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

SYNONYMS FOR hurtle

1. speed, fly, race, rush, shoot.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hurtle ON THESAURUS.COM

Can be confusedhurdle hurl hurtle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hurtle

Over the edge, you hurtle forward at a speed the human body was never meant to travel at.
Skiing is Love at First Swoosh|David Frum|March 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
As we hurtle together to the fiscal cliff, the Republicans are getting much the worse of the media battle.
Democrats Have Their Own Fiscal Delusions|David Frum|December 31, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Ice masses, especially ones the size of Canadian provinces, do not technically “hurtle.”
Oops, My Mistake|Christopher Buckley|December 17, 2009|DAILY BEAST
She had had no personal description of Mrs. Hurtle, but had expected something very different from this!
The Way We Live Now|Anthony Trollope

Of such art as there may be in it Mrs. Hurtle was a perfect master.
The Way We Live Now|Anthony Trollope
Then, from somewhere up aloft, rifle-bullets began to hurtle among them, and then the end was very near.
Under the Chilian Flag|Harry Collingwood
To this Paul made no answer, thinking that he had now both heard enough and said enough about Mrs. Hurtle.
The Way We Live Now|Anthony Trollope
"And so you have heard of Mrs. Hurtle," he said, with a faint attempt at a smile.
The Way We Live Now|Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for hurtle

hurtle

/ (ˈhɜːtəl) /

verb

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

(intr) rare to collide or crash

Word Origin for hurtle

C13 hurtlen, from hurten to strike; see hurt 1

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 hurtle

hurtle

early 14c., hurteln, "to crash together; to crash down, knock down," probably frequentative of hurten (see hurt (v.)) in its original sense. Intransitive meaning "to rush, dash, charge" is late 14c. The essential notion in hurtle is that of forcible collision, in hurl that of forcible projection. Related: Hurtled; hurtling.