What does "hurdle" mean?
An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which athletes or horses jump in a race.
Hurdle
/ˈhɜːdl̩/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which athletes or horses jump in a race.
- Grammar: hurdle is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: vault, and jump, bar, barrera.
- Useful contrasts: zero friction, advance, assistance.
- Usage evidence: He'll be drawn on a hurdle to be half hanged, and then he'll be taken down and sliced before his own face, and then his inside will be taken out and burnt while he looks on, and then his head will be chopped off, and he'll be cut into quarters. That's the sentence.
How to use "hurdle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hurdle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hurdle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hurdle" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hurdle" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "hurdle" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "vault" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "hurdle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which athletes or horses jump in a race.
"He ran in the 100 metres hurdles."
- 2 Misspelling of hurtle. alt-of, misspelling
- 3 the act of jumping over an obstacle wordnet
- 4 An obstacle, real or perceived, physical or abstract. figuratively
"My last stop was an outdoor speech to a huge crowd of Ukrainians whom I urged to stay on the course of freedom and economic reform. Kiev was beautiful in the late spring sunshine, and I hoped its people could keep up the high spirits I had observed in the crowd. They still had many hurdles to clear."
- 5 a light movable barrier that competitors must leap over in certain races wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A movable frame of wattled twigs, osiers, or withes and stakes, or sometimes of iron, used for enclosing land, for folding sheep and cattle, for gates, etc.; also, in fortification, used as revetments, and for other purposes.
"The practice of folding sheep was general, and the purchase of hurdles was a regular charge in the shepherd's account."
- 7 an obstacle that you are expected to overcome wordnet
- 8 A sled or crate on which criminals were drawn to the place of execution. UK, historical
"In treason, the corporal punishment is by drawing on hurdle from the place of the prison to the place of execution, and by hanging and being cut down alive, bowelling, and quartering: and in women by burning."
- 9 A piece that is jumped over by a hopper piece.
"Pieces that can move only by hopping over other pieces are termed Hoppers. It should be noted that hoppers capture in the usual way by eviction, they do not capture the hurdles over which they hop. The most popular hoppers are: The Equihopper (G. Leathem FCR 1938) which hops to the same distance beyond the hurdle as it is from it."
Verb
- 1 To jump over something while running.
"He hurdled the bench in his rush to get away."
- 2 Misspelling of hurtle. alt-of, misspelling
- 3 jump a hurdle wordnet
- 4 To compete in the track and field events of hurdles (e.g. high hurdles).
- 5 To overcome an obstacle.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To hedge, cover, make, or enclose with hurdles.
"Watching where shepherds pen their flocks at eve In hurdled cotes amid the field secure"
- 7 To jump over another piece without capturing it.
"Kangaroo (KA): as G, but hurdles over any two units to land on the first square beyond the second unit (the two units need not be adjacent). […] Saltador (SA): can move without capturing to the same squares as an S, whenever either of the intermediate squares is occupied (by hurdling); can capture on the same squares as an S whenever either of the intermediate squares is empty."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"He'll be drawn on a hurdle to be half hanged, and then he'll be taken down and sliced before his own face, and then his inside will be taken out and burnt while he looks on, and then his head will be chopped off, and he'll be cut into quarters. That's the sentence."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hurdle"?
Common synonyms include: vault, and jump, bar, barrera, barrier, barrier.
How do you use "hurdle" in a sentence?
He'll be drawn on a hurdle to be half hanged, and then he'll be taken down and sliced before his own face, and then his inside will be taken out and burnt while he looks on, and then his head will be chopped off, and he'll be cut into quarters. That's the sentence.
How do you pronounce "hurdle"?
Pronounced /ˈhɜːdl̩/.
Etymology
] From Middle English hurdel, hirdel, herdel, hyrdel, from Old English hyrdel (“frame of intertwined twigs used as a temporary barrier”), diminutive of *hyrd, from Proto-Germanic *hurdiz, from Pre-Germanic *kr̥h₂tis, from Proto-Indo-European *kreh₂-. Cognate with Dutch horde, German Hürde.