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
Arkansas Online, 17 Mar. 2026
Hardollin/Getty Images Over the past few years, high borrowing costs, rising prices on essentials and other economic hurdles have forced many Americans to lean more heavily on their credit cards to cover their expenses.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2026
These events, almost always streamed or televised, were suddenly hurdling toward obsolescence — one of many casualties inflicted by the transfer portal and NIL.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hurdle
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Nearly 75 percent said the crop sector was in a recession, and 67 percent said the biggest hurdle to profitability was the price of materials.
—Arkansas Online, 17 Mar. 2026
Hardollin/Getty Images Over the past few years, high borrowing costs, rising prices on essentials and other economic hurdles have forced many Americans to lean more heavily on their credit cards to cover their expenses.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
Verb
There hasn’t been much KP hasn’t been able to hurdle, and that showed in double-overtime wins over Canton in the second round and Pembroke in the quarterfinals, before dethroning defending state champion Medfield in the semifinals.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2026
These events, almost always streamed or televised, were suddenly hurdling toward obsolescence — one of many casualties inflicted by the transfer portal and NIL.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 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 19 Mar. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
