hurry

1 of 2

verb

hur·​ry ˈhər-ē How to pronounce hurry (audio)
ˈhə-rē
hurried; hurrying

transitive verb

1
a
: to carry or cause to go with haste
hurry them to the hospital
b
: to impel to rash or precipitate action
that hard-to-be-governed passion of youth hurried me frequently into intrigues with low women Benjamin Franklin
2
a
: to impel to greater speed : prod
used spurs to hurry the horse
b
: expedite
asked them to hurry dinner
c
: to perform with undue haste
hurry a minuet

intransitive verb

: to move or act with haste
please hurry up
hurrier noun

hurry

2 of 2

noun

1
: disturbed or disorderly activity : commotion
the incessant hurry and trivial activity of daily life … seem to prevent, or at least discourage, quiet and intense thinking C. W. Eliot
2
a
: agitated and often bustling or disorderly haste
b
: a state of eagerness or urgency : rush
was in a hurry to get home
Phrases
in a hurry
: without delay : as rapidly as possible
the police got there in a hurry
Choose the Right Synonym for hurry

haste, hurry, speed, expedition, dispatch mean quickness in movement or action.

haste applies to personal action and implies urgency and precipitancy and often rashness.

marry in haste

hurry often has a strong suggestion of agitated bustle or confusion.

in the hurry of departure she forgot her toothbrush

speed suggests swift efficiency in movement or action.

exercises to increase your reading speed

expedition and dispatch both imply speed and efficiency in handling affairs but expedition stresses ease or efficiency of performance and dispatch stresses promptness in concluding matters.

the case came to trial with expedition
paid bills with dispatch

Example Sentences

Verb Take your time. There's no need to hurry. She hurried off to her class. We hurried through the lesson so that we could finish early. The teacher hurried us through the lesson. They hurried the children off to bed. The quarterback was forced to hurry his throw. Noun In her hurry to leave she forgot her briefcase. after all her hurry to get her report done on time, Elizabeth learned that it wasn't due till the following week See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
When the museum hit the financial skids in 1974 and Norton Simon took control of the place, Hopps encouraged Dagny to hurry over and salvage books from the museum’s library of recent art, which Simon was poised to discard. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2022 There’s no need to hurry and pull the trigger just yet. Chris Smith, BGR, 8 Nov. 2022 Shop more Birkenstock sandals at Gilt below, and hurry, as styles are going fast. Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 3 Nov. 2022 And everyone will hurry to copy Apple’s lead, including companies that have been manufacturing VR headsets for years. Chris Smith, BGR, 1 Nov. 2022 In this case, Swift didn’t hurry anything, and there were copious amounts of LPs this weekend, in stores as well as for web ordering, for anyone who wanted them. Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Oct. 2022 Find a wide variety of Birkenstock shoes on sale at Gilt below — and hurry, because the brand notoriously sells out quickly. Claire Harmeyer, PEOPLE.com, 18 July 2022 This was Frank Reich and Marcus Brady's most creative game plan of the season, perhaps only behind the hurry-up passing that beat the Jaguars two weeks ago. Nate Atkins, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Oct. 2022 Maybe, then, Musk might need to hurry up on the decades of transition away from oil and gas and toward electric vehicles. Chloe Berger, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2022
Noun
Kansas also will have to keep track of sharp-shooting sophomore Terquavion Smith, who can get hot from the 3-point line in a hurry. John Marshall, ajc, 22 Nov. 2022 Jack Statz got to the ball in a hurry and deflected it. Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 18 Nov. 2022 Green Bay is riding high off their overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys this past week but need to turn their season around in a hurry. Doug Ziefel, Chicago Tribune, 17 Nov. 2022 Others among the 1,955 people in Michigan seeking a kidney — or a liver (172 patients), heart (119), lung (40), pancreas (17), intestine (2) or combination of several — are in more of a hurry. Detroit Free Press, 13 Oct. 2022 Emus, native to Australia, can actually run at speeds of up to 30 m.p.h., but this one didn’t seem to be in that much of a hurry. William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, 4 Oct. 2022 The upshot was that Coccetta agreed to give Buchanan free creative rein to create—in something of a hurry, apparently—this first joint endeavor that features both parties’ names. Luke Leitch, Vogue, 20 Sep. 2022 The show’s not in much of a hurry (the first three episodes dropping together really are of a piece), and that might lose it some shorter attention spans. Caroline Framke, Variety, 20 Sep. 2022 Elsewhere inside, riot gear was scattered on the floor as if tossed aside in a hurry. Anastacia Galouchka, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hurry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

perhaps from Middle English horyen

First Known Use

Verb

1592, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hurry was in 1592

Dictionary Entries Near hurry

Cite this Entry

“Hurry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hurry. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.

Kids Definition

hurry

1 of 2 verb
hur·​ry ˈhər-ē How to pronounce hurry (audio)
ˈhə-rē
hurried; hurrying
1
a
: to carry or cause to go with haste
hurry the child to the hospital
b
: to move or act with haste
had to hurry to arrive in time
2
a
: to urge on to greater speed : prod
b
: to hasten the doing of
hurry a repair job
hurrier noun

hurry

2 of 2 noun
plural hurries
1
: great speed
especially : unnecessary haste
2
: a state of eagerness or urgency : rush

More from Merriam-Webster on hurry

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