Illustration of hurdle
- hurdle 2a
1
a
: a portable panel usually of wattled withes and stakes used especially for enclosing land or livestock
b
: a frame or sled formerly used in England for dragging traitors to execution
2
a
: an artificial barrier over which racers must leap
knocked over a hurdle
b
hurdles plural, track and field
: any of various events in which racers must jump over a series of hurdles
won a medal in the high hurdles
The hurdles is his best event.
hurdled; hurdling
ˈhər-dᵊl-iŋ 
ˈhərd-liŋ
1
: to leap over especially while running (as in a sporting competition)
hurdling an obstacle in a steeplechase
Did you know?
Hurdle vs. Hurtle
Indistinguishable in speech, the words hurtle and hurdle can be a confusing pair.
Hurtle is a verb with two meanings: "to move rapidly or forcefully," as in "The stone was hurtling through the air," and "to hurl or fling," as in "I hurtled the stone into the air." Note that the first use is intransitive: the stone isn't hurtling anything; it itself is simply hurtling. The second use is transitive: something was hurtled—in this case, a stone.
Hurdle is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, its most common meanings have to do with barriers: the ones that runners leap over, and the metaphorical extension of these, the figurative barriers and obstacles we try to similarly overcome. The verb hurdle has two meanings, and they are directly related to these. It can mean "to leap over especially while running," as in "She hurdled the fence," and it can mean "to overcome or surmount," as in "They've had to hurdle significant financial obstacles." The verb hurdle is always transitive; that is, there's always a thing being hurdled, whether it be a physical obstacle or a metaphorical one.
Synonyms
Examples of hurdle in a Sentence
Noun
He won a medal in the high hurdles.
The company faces severe financial hurdles this year.
Verb
The horse hurdled the fence.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2025
Still, patients need to jump through logistical hurdles to secure a prescription or insurance coverage.
—Team Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 24 Jan. 2025
Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2025
Bitcoin hurdles milestone Bitcoin jumped above the key $100,000 milestone on reports Trump is considering a crypto reserve but slipped into negative territory by the end of the day.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hurdle 
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Noun
But Noe said the biggest hurdle local farmers face when trying to expand their operations is the pressure from development spreading across the historic agricultural lands in South Miami-Dade.
—Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2025
Still, patients need to jump through logistical hurdles to secure a prescription or insurance coverage.
—Team Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
All the things that have made the Clippers one of the surprises of the NBA season threaten to make the Lakers a disappointment, hurdles the team has yet to conquer and ones that, barring roster reconstruction, just might never happen.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2025
Bitcoin hurdles milestone Bitcoin jumped above the key $100,000 milestone on reports Trump is considering a crypto reserve but slipped into negative territory by the end of the day.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hurdle
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Dictionary Entries Near hurdle
Cite this Entry
“Hurdle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hurdle. Accessed 7 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hurdle
2 of 2 verb
hurdled; hurdling
ˈhərd-liŋ
-ᵊl-iŋ
1
: to leap over while running
the horse hurdled the fence
2
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