hurtle

hurtle — verb

1. to travel at extremely high speed, often feeling uncontrolled or unsafe — pictur

1.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to travel at extremely high speed, often feeling uncontrolled or unsafe — picture a car racing down a steep mountain road or a cyclist flying around a blind corner.

Example

The blue car hurtled down the narrow street, barely missing a parked bicycle.

hurtle + direction phrase (down/along/toward)

Feng hurtled around the corner on his bike and nearly hit a delivery truck.

Common collocations
  • hurtle down
  • hurtle along
  • hurtle toward
  • hurtle past
  • hurtle through
Synonyms
  • race

    focuses on speed and competing, less on danger

  • rush

    can be used for hurried movement, not necessarily dangerous

  • tear

    informal, suggests moving at top speed, often recklessly

  • zoom

    informal, lighter tone, usually not dangerous

Antonyms
  • crawl

    moving extremely slowly

  • creep

    moving slowly and carefully

Grammar Patterns

hurtle + adverb/preposition (down/along/toward/past/through)

Usage Note

Almost always used with an adverbial of direction (down, along, toward, past, through). The subject is typically a moving vehicle, person, or object that is out of control or moving at a speed that feels risky.

Common Mistakes

The car hurtled slowly around the bend.
The car hurtled around the bend.
hurtle already means to move very fast, so speed adverbs (slowly, gradually) conflict with its meaning.

2. to throw something with great strength, sending it through the air quickly — for

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to throw something with great strength, sending it through the air quickly — for example, hurtling a backpack across a room in anger or hurtling a stone at a target.

Example

In frustration, Paloma hurtled her backpack across the empty classroom.

hurtle + object + across [space]

The experienced pitcher hurtled the ball toward home plate at high speed.

Common collocations
  • hurtle across
  • hurtle into
  • hurtle at
Synonyms
  • hurl

    very close in meaning, more common than hurtle for throwing

  • fling

    suggests a loose, often careless throwing motion

  • lob

    a gentler, arching throw, much less forceful

Antonyms
  • catch

    receiving rather than sending

  • hold

    keeping rather than releasing

Grammar Patterns

hurtle + object + adverb/preposition

Usage Note

Much less common than sense 1. The object is usually something physically throwable (bag, stone, ball). Often implies anger, frustration, or great effort. This sense is similar in meaning to hurl.

Common Mistakes

She hurtled the idea across the table.
She hurtled the book across the table.
hurtle (sense 2) requires a physical object that can be thrown; it is not used for abstract things.

Word family

  • hurtling
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four verbs describe fast movement, but hurtle adds a sense of danger or lack of control that the others lack. Race focuses on competing for speed ('The horses raced toward the finish line') and can be used in formal or informal contexts. Rush emphasizes hurry and urgency rather than sheer speed ('Ambulance workers rushed the patient into surgery') — the danger comes from the situation, not the speed itself. Tear (informal) suggests wild, reckless motion ('The children tore through the house after school'), often with excitement rather than fear. Zoom (informal) is lighthearted and usually implies smooth, enjoyable speed ('Sora zoomed down the ski slope on her new board'). If you want to convey that something is moving fast AND could cause harm or go out of control, hurtle is the best choice.

race ↗rush ↗tear ↗zoom ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • out of control
  • at full speed
  • at breakneck speed

Prepositions

Etymology

Middle EnglishOld FrenchGermanic

Hurtle comes from Middle English hurtlen, meaning 'to strike against' or 'to collide with.' It was formed from hurten ('to strike, injure') plus the frequentative suffix -le, which adds a sense of repeated or forceful action. The original meaning focused on impact and collision. Over time, the meaning shifted from 'crash into something' to 'move with such speed that a collision might happen,' and finally to the modern sense of moving at extreme speed — whether or not an actual crash occurs. The connection to hurt (injury) is still felt in the word's dangerous tone.