hurry

hurry — verb

1. to move, act, or do something faster than usual, often because time is short; to

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB1
Definition

to move, act, or do something faster than usual, often because time is short; to make someone else do this by telling or urging them to go faster.

Example

Gabriel hurried to the station, but the last train had already left.

hurry + direction/preposition

Aylin hurried Christopher out of the building when the fire alarm went off.

transitive: hurry + person + direction

Common collocations
  • hurry through
  • hurry along
  • hurry home
  • hurry back
  • hurry over
Synonyms
  • rush

    stronger sense of intensity or disorder; 'rush' often implies careless speed

  • dash

    suggests moving quickly in a particular direction, often over a short distance

  • hasten

    more formal; suggests deliberate speed rather than urgency

Antonyms
  • delay

    opposite action — to make something happen later rather than faster

  • linger

    to stay somewhere longer than necessary, the opposite of hurrying away

Grammar Patterns

hurry + adverb/preposition phrase

hurry + noun + adverb/preposition phrase

hurry + to-infinitive

Usage Note

Common in imperatives and negative constructions. The transitive sense ('hurry someone') always requires a direct object — you cannot say 'hurry him up' without 'up' for the transitive sense; 'hurry' alone as a transitive verb is less common in modern English outside fixed phrases ('Don't hurry me').

Common Mistakes

I hurried him to finish' (meaning I told him to go faster).
I hurried him up / I told him to hurry up.
The transitive use without 'up' is possible but sounds dated; modern English prefers 'hurry someone up.'
Phrasal verbs

hurry up

phrasal verb

to move or do something more quickly; to make someone or something do this by urging them to go faster.

Joon told the children to hurry up and put on their shoes.

The restaurant manager hurried the kitchen staff up when the dinner rush began.

hurry on

phrasal verb

To continue moving or speaking quickly without stopping.

The teacher told us to hurry on with our work.

After a short break, she hurried on with her story.

Idioms

hurry up

idiom

used to tell someone to move or do something more quickly, especially when you are annoyed or impatient.

Hurry up — the film starts in five minutes and we are still ten minutes away.

hurry — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe moving or acting fast, but they differ in intensity and formality. 'Hurry' is the most neutral and everyday word — you hurry to catch a bus or finish a task. 'Rush' adds a sense of chaotic energy or disorder ('She rushed through her homework and made many mistakes'). 'Dash' focuses on a short, swift movement in a particular direction ('He dashed across the street to avoid the rain'). 'Hasten' is more formal and suggests deliberate speed rather than panic ('The company hastened to respond to customer complaints'). 'Speed' as a verb emphasizes moving at high velocity ('The ambulance sped to the hospital'). Use 'hurry' for everyday situations where time is short; use 'rush' when carelessness or intensity is involved; use 'dash' for short bursts of movement; use 'hasten' in formal writing.

rush ↗dash ↗hastenspeed ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

Middle EnglishEnglish

First recorded in English in the late 1500s. The exact origin is uncertain, but it may come from an old word 'horyen' meaning 'to rush or urge onward.' It is possibly imitative of the sound of rushing movement. Over time, it became the everyday word for acting quickly that we use today.