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
John Towfighi, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
My 11-year-old daughter and I are in awe watching the Masters Agility Championship Preliminaries, where Border Collies and Jack Russell Terriers move like lightning through tunnels and over hurdles.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 10 Feb. 2026
Jake Angelo, Fortune, 10 Feb. 2026
The latter delivered the season’s standout performance, highlighted by 2026 financial guidance that hurdled over Street consensus.
—Elaine Chen, STAT, 4 Feb. 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
Ives said many customers have reservations about data privacy and protection, which could be a hurdle for general AI chatbots becoming go-to services for businesses.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
My 11-year-old daughter and I are in awe watching the Masters Agility Championship Preliminaries, where Border Collies and Jack Russell Terriers move like lightning through tunnels and over hurdles.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 10 Feb. 2026
Verb
Tech companies are hurdling toward a goal of artificial general intelligence, or AGI—technology that matches or exceeds human cognitive abilities.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 10 Feb. 2026
The latter delivered the season’s standout performance, highlighted by 2026 financial guidance that hurdled over Street consensus.
—Elaine Chen, STAT, 4 Feb. 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 15 Feb. 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
