Word
hurt
US/ˈhɝt/
UK/hˈɜːt/
Irregular verb
Forms
Infinitive
hurt
Past
hurt
Past participle
hurt
Definitions
01to cause physical pain
A2 · Elementary
v. to cause physical pain or injury to a person or animal.
v. to inflict physical pain or bodily injury upon a person or animal.
“Be careful with that knife or you might hurt yourself while cooking.”
“The athlete was careful not to overextend his knee, fearing he might hurt himself again before the championship finals.”
Usage
This verb is often used reflexively with 'myself', 'yourself', etc.
02to feel pain
A2 · Elementary
v. to feel pain in a part of your body.
v. to be the source of physical pain; used in a stative sense to describe a bodily sensation.
Español:doler
“My feet really hurt after walking around the city all day.”
“His lower back began to hurt intensely after he spent the afternoon moving heavy furniture into the new apartment.”
Usage
Often used in the progressive 'is hurting' to describe a current sensation.
03to upset someone
B1 · Intermediate
v. to make someone feel unhappy or upset.
v. to cause emotional distress, sadness, or psychological pain to another person.
“I didn't mean to hurt your feelings when I criticized your painting.”
“She was deeply hurt by his cold response to her news, as she had expected him to be supportive.”
Usage
Commonly used in the phrase 'hurt someone's feelings'.
04to damage or harm
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to have a bad effect on something, like a business or a plan.
v. to damage, impair, or have a negative impact on a situation, reputation, or entity.
“The high interest rates are starting to hurt small businesses in the area.”
“The scandal significantly hurt the company's reputation, leading to a sharp decline in share prices over the following months.”
05injured or upset
B1 · Intermediate
adj. feeling physical pain or being emotionally upset.
adj. suffering from physical injury or emotional distress.
“He had a hurt expression on his face after they laughed at his idea.”
“The medic tended to the hurt passengers while waiting for more ambulances to arrive at the scene.”
Usage
Can be used before a noun or after a linking verb like 'feel'.
06emotional pain
B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun
n. a feeling of unhappiness because of something bad that happened.
n. psychological suffering or the feeling of being treated unfairly or unkindly.
“It took many years for her to get over the hurt of the divorce.”
“The poem captures the deep hurt and betrayal felt by the soldiers who returned to a country that had forgotten them.”
Usage
Usually uncountable when referring to a general state of distress.
Etymology
From Middle English hurten, hirten, hertan (“to injure, scathe, knock together”), from Old Northern French hurter ("to ram into, strike, collide with"; > Modern French heurter), perhaps from Frankish hūrt (“a battering ram”), cognate with Welsh hwrdd (“ram”) and Cornish hordh (“ram”). Compare Proto-Germanic hrūtaną, hreutaną (“to fall, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European krew- (“to fall, beat, smash, strike, break”); however, the earliest instances of the verb in Middle English are as old as those found in Old French, which leads to the possibility that the Middle English word may instead be a reflex of an unrecorded Old English *hyrtan, which later merged with the Old French verb. Germanic cognates include Dutch horten (“to push against, strike”), Middle Low German hurten (“to run at, collide with”), Middle High German hurten (“to push, bump, attack, storm, invade”), Old Norse hrútr (“battering ram”). Alternate etymology traces Old Northern French hurter rather to Old Norse hrútr (“ram (male sheep)”), lengthened-grade variant of hjǫrtr (“stag”), from Proto-Germanic herutuz, herutaz (“hart, male deer”), which would relate it to English hart (“male deer”). See hart.
Unclear. Suggestions include: from its resemblance to a blue hurtleberry, or from French heurt (a blow, leaving a blue bruise), the latter of which would make it a doublet of hurt Etymology 1; compare the theories about golpe (“purple roundel”)).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
ADJECTIVE
Related words
Idioms
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A2 KeyIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.3.0–4.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 2.0–2.524–43TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.225–549
- Frequency
- Very common
- Level
- A2 · ElementaryOxford
- Updated
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englishreference.com/q/hurt
Traducciones: Kaikki.org (Wiktionary), CC BY-SA 4.0