hurt
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to cause bodily injury to; injure.
He was badly hurt in the accident.
-
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.
-
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.
-
to cause injury, damage, or harm.
-
to suffer want or need.
noun
adjective
-
physically injured.
The hurt child was taken to the hospital.
-
offended; unfavorably affected.
hurt pride.
-
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)
-
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.Synonym Usage
See injury.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hurtsimple
-
hurtssimple
-
have hurtperfect
-
has hurtperfect
-
am hurtingprogressive
-
are hurtingprogressive
-
is hurtingprogressive
-
have been hurtingperfect progressive
-
has been hurtingperfect progressive
Past
-
hurtsimple
-
had hurtperfect
-
was hurtingprogressive
-
were hurtingprogressive
-
had been hurtingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
If you have a party and no one shows up, you will probably feel hurt: emotionally injured by what's happened. Hurt comes from the Old French hurte, meaning "collision," or "blow." We still have that violent sense in our word hurtle but we use hurt for a whole range of pains. If you stub your toe, it hurts, and if someone is beating you up you might say, "Stop hurting me!" Someone injured in battle or in sports is described as hurt. If you say something you shouldn't on live radio, you'll hurt your chances of winning an election.
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.
See Examples For:
“A bad experience will hurt both the product or service being featured, and the broadcaster,” Heyward said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
In Elektrostal, an empty kindergarten was also hit, but no one was hurt, added Vorobyov.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
The bull run in stocks and big increases in home prices didn’t hurt either.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Tony Jacklin wowed the home fans at Royal Lytham and, since then, it has been 57 years of relative hurt.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
I hesitate because he’s definitely not doing a pattern, but I don’t want to hurt his feelings.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
The danger is, in the short term at least, that the renewed economic pressure hurts ordinary Iranians and leaves a destructive stalemate in the waterway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
A bad credit score hurts your ability to take out a loan, rent housing and even qualify for certain jobs.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
“I would have liked to win five games, to leave home with five victories. That hurts — it hurts a lot,” Aguirre said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
"I cannot afford to lose so many days. It hurts," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Seeing that hurts more than I thought it would.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Hollywood may be hurting, but let the Bowl now save the day by inspiring Hollywood to reinvent, in its backyard, film with live music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
Not to give away our strategy, but we want to draw him in, because then he’s not hurting anybody else for a few minutes or spreading more ridiculous lies about innocent people.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
But many also stayed away, hurting from two wars in less than a year, inflation spiralling at around 80%, and the pain of January's anti-government protests.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Krispy Kreme doesn’t think weight-loss drugs are hurting business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
I know how much she must be hurting, but part of me is happy to finally have someone else who remembers too.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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.
