I. ˈhərd ə l, ˈhə̄d-, ˈhəid- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English hirdel, hurdel, from Old English hyrdel; akin to Old High German hurd hurdle, Old Norse hurth door, Gothic haurds door, Latin cratis wickerwork, hurdle, Greek kartallos basket, Sanskrit kṛṇatti he spins, cṛtati he ties, and perhaps to Latin crassus thick; basic meaning: to twist
1.
a. : a portable panel of wattled twigs, osiers, or withes and stakes, or sometimes of iron or rails, used for fencing in land or livestock, reinforcing a wall or breastwork, or spanning a bog or ditch
b. : a frame or sled formerly used in England for dragging traitors to a place of execution
c. : an artificial barrier over which men or horses leap in a race
2. : something that acts as a barrier : obstacle
once you have passed the final hurdle — an interview with a selection board — E.O.Hauser
one of the worst hurdles a staff man faces is the vale of distrust that exists between echelons of command — W.H.Whyte
a session of the foreign ministers … removed the final hurdles in the way of a peace conference — A.H.Vandenberg †1951
3.
a. hurdles plural : hurdle race
b. : a jump made after the last approach step and carrying a diver to the end of the board in a running dive
[s]hurdle.jpg[/s] [
hurdle 1c
]
II. verb
( hurdled ; hurdled ; hurdling -d( ə )liŋ ; hurdles )
transitive verb
1. : to fence in or reinforce with hurdles
2. : to leap over (an obstacle) while running
3. : to get across or past : overcome , surmount
only the boldest pioneers would hurdle a pathless wilderness — R.A.Billington
student performers … had to hurdle a series of competitive auditions — Collier's
engineers … wrestle with the multitude of problems to be hurdled in the construction of thruway spurs — New York Times
intransitive verb
: to leap over an obstacle while running ; specifically : to run a hurdle race