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.
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
Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 19 May 2026
The project comes on the heels of filmmaker Nina Lee and Will Packer discussing the rarity of You, Me & Tuscany alongside the hardships and hurdles that Black romance films must overcome in the industry from conception to funding to box office.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 19 May 2026
Josh Robbins, New York Times, 11 May 2026
For a teen star like King, the chasm that Malone once had to hurdle between the Petersburg High School varsity team and professional basketball has been replaced by something more like a tricky but continuous series of conveyor belts.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hurdle
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
The biggest hurdles facing African suppliers, the trade group argued, aren’t so much tariffs but rather poor local infrastructure, complex regulations, lack of funding and shipping bottlenecks.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 19 May 2026
The project comes on the heels of filmmaker Nina Lee and Will Packer discussing the rarity of You, Me & Tuscany alongside the hardships and hurdles that Black romance films must overcome in the industry from conception to funding to box office.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 19 May 2026
Verb
That was the frigid afternoon when Darrell Green returned a punt 52 yards for a touchdown, hurdling a would-be tackler on the play.
—Josh Robbins, New York Times, 11 May 2026
For a teen star like King, the chasm that Malone once had to hurdle between the Petersburg High School varsity team and professional basketball has been replaced by something more like a tricky but continuous series of conveyor belts.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hurdle
Cite this Entry
“Hurdle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hurdle. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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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