I. ˈhər]t, ˈhə̄], ˈhəi], usu ]d.+V verb
( hurt or dialect hurted ; hurt or dialect hurted ; hurting ; hurts )
Etymology: Middle English hurten, hirten to cause or allow to strike, injure, probably from Old French hurter to collide with, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old Norse hrūtr ram (male sheep); akin to Old Norse hjörtr hart — more at hart
transitive verb
1.
a. : to afflict with bodily pain : injure , wound
the hot sand hurts my feet
was badly hurt in the wreck
got hurt in a bombing raid
b. : to do physical or material harm to : damage , impair
the submarine is hurt by heavy depth charges
the walkout is not hurting service as much as the strikers hoped
c. : to do substantial or fundamental harm to : weaken
the story is hurt but not ruined by too many long descriptive passages
2.
a. : to cause pain or anguish to : distress , offend
disillusions of the mind hurt less than disillusions of the heart — W.L.Sullivan
was hurt by their lack of confidence in him
it hurts me to think of all that land wasted — Ellen Glasgow
b. : to be detrimental to : check , hamper
the charges of graft will hurt his chances in the fall election
a good wife can't help a husband as much as a bad wife can hurt one — W.H.Whyte
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to feel pain or frustration : ache , suffer
her hand … hurt from lugging the suitcase — John Dos Passos
knocked a young heifer in the head because he … figured she had hurt long enough — Caroline Miller
atomic-energy programs are hurting from lack of enough scientific help — Newsweek
b. chiefly Midland : to be in need : want
2. : to cause damage or distress : do harm
hit the aggressor … where it will hurt most — D.H.McLachlan
essential needs abroad must be met even if it hurts at home — J.S.Carson
the rain may hold off but it won't hurt to take your umbrella
Synonyms: see injure
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English hurte, hurt, hirt, probably from Old French hurte shock of a collision, stroke, blow, from hurter to collide with
1. : a wounding blow or stroke : cause of injury or damage
the superiority … of the United States was a hurt to British prestige — Bernard Brodie
this tower of granite, weathering the hurts of so many ages — R.W.Emerson
2.
a. : a bodily injury or wound
rattleweed, made into a tincture, is better than arnica for hurts of every sort — Emily Holt
b. : mental distress or anguish : resentment , suffering
are apt to be exasperated, and say things in immediate hurt which a little later they realize they do not wholly mean — A.E.Sutherland
her sympathy eased his hurt
3. : wrong , harm , disadvantage , detriment
his soul-stuff, by working on which a sorcerer may do the man himself grievous hurt — J.G.Frazer
subordinating cosmic to moral considerations, to the hurt of both — M.R.Cohen
Synonyms: see injury
III. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from past participle of hurten, v.
1. : injured in body or spirit : wounded , resentful
ambulances … quickly dispose of hurt men and women — J.C.Powys
an air of hurt innocence
hoped to avoid hurt feelings over rejection of the plan
2. : physically impaired : damaged
hurt book sale
restore hurt land with woods, game cover, and water — Russell Lord
IV. noun
also heurt or heurte ˈhərt
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French heurte, probably from heurter to collide with, knock, from Old French hurter to collide with; perhaps from the idea that it represents the mark of a blow
heraldry : a roundel azure