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English (UK)
Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of hurt in English

hurt
verb [ I or T ]
uk
/hɜːt/ us
/hɝːt/
hurt | hurt
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A2
to feel pain in a part of your body, or to injure someone or cause them pain:
Tell me where it hurts.
My head hurts.
She says that her ear hurts her.
Emma hurt her back when she fell off her horse.
seriously hurt Several people were seriously hurt in the explosion.
badly hurt She was so badly hurt she wasn't able to compete for the rest of the year.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
to cause pain
  • hurtMy leg hurts.
  • acheMy legs are still aching from my run yesterday.
  • throbMy head throbbed.
  • stingHis cheeks stung from the aftershave he'd just put on.
  • smartThe smoke was thick, making her eyes smart.
  • rubThe clothing is cleverly stitched to prevent the seams rubbing anywhere.
See more results »
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
to hurt someone physically
  • hurtI hurt my arm climbing over the fence.
  • injureThe bomb killed ten people and injured many more.
  • woundHe was wounded so badly in the attack that doctors said he might never walk again.
  • maimThe atrocities have killed or maimed thousands of people.
  • tortureThe guards were accused of torturing prisoners.
  • stabHe was fatally stabbed with a kitchen knife.
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B1
to cause emotional pain to someone:
She criticized my writing quite severely and that hurt.
He was badly hurt by the end of his marriage.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
to hurt someone emotionally
  • hurtI'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you.
  • hurt someone’s feelingsDon't say anything - you'll hurt her feelings.
  • upsetI'm sorry the news upset you.
  • woundHe had wounded her pride more than she would ever have admitted.
  • painIt pains me to admit it, but there's nothing I can do to change the situation.
  • grieveIt grieved him that he had been the cause of all the bitterness.
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to cause harm or difficulty:
A lot of businesses are being hurt by the current high interest rates.
seriously hurt These allegations have seriously hurt her reputation.
never hurt anyone Hard work never hurt anyone (= does no one any harm).
informal One more drink won't hurt (= won't cause any harm).
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Pain & painful
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Idioms

it doesn't hurt/never hurts to do something
it wouldn't hurt you to do something
hurt
adjective [ after verb ]
uk
/hɜːt/ us
/hɝːt/
B1
injured or in pain:
Let me help you up. Are you hurt?
get hurt Put that knife away before someone gets hurt.
B1
upset or unhappy:
I feel very hurt by what you said.
"That was very unkind," he said in a hurt voice.
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Pain & painful
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
hurt
noun [ S or U ]
uk
/hɜːt/ us
/hɝːt/
emotional pain:
The hurt after a relationship breaks up can be awful.
deep hurt Her brave smile concealed a deep hurt.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
emotional pain
  • painDivorce can cause a lot of pain and suffering.
  • hurtThe hurt caused by the break-up was almost unbearable.
  • griefAfter his death, her grief was unbearable.
  • heartacheAfter all the tears and heartache, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
  • heartbreakMany of us have known our share of heartbreak.
See more results »
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Sadness and regret
See more results »
(Definition of hurt from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

hurt | American Dictionary

hurt
verb [ I/T ]
us
/hɜrt/
past tense and past participle hurt
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to feel pain, or to cause pain or injury to yourself or someone else:
[ I ] Tell me where it hurts.
[ I ] My leg hurts.
[ T ] Stop! You’re hurting me!
[ T ] Emilio hurt his back when he fell off a ladder.
To hurt also means to cause harm or difficulty:
[ T ] A lot of businesses are being hurt by high interest rates.
[ T ] His lack of experience may hurt his chances of getting the job.
To hurt someone can also mean to make someone upset or unhappy:
[ T ] I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.

Idiom

it doesn’t hurt to do something
hurt
adjective [ not gradable ]
us
/hɜrt/
feeling pain or being upset:
I saw you fall – are you hurt?
Naomi was hurt by your criticism.
hurt
noun [ U ]
us
/hɜrt/
emotional pain:
It’s a hurt that he has tried all his life to heal.
(Definition of hurt from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of hurt

hurt
Care is taken to avoid hurting the other's feelings and to go along with the other rather than make a fuss over trifles.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Intensity and correlates of fear of falling and hurting oneself in the next year: baseline findings.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
I noted down what she said about it, but it hurts to acknowledge it.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The brighter and more cheerful it is, the more it hurts.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
As the crisis deepened and the industry floundered, it became clear that individual approaches were hurting more than they were helping.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Further, trust in electronic information may interfere with recognizing that these wonderful tools and state-of-the-art data transmission might also increase the likelihood of hurting patients.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
We also believe that some harmful speech can be legally constrained, so it is important not to conflate harms with hurts.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
305 or one's partner, thus dismissing threats and hurts to oneself.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The hypothesis that democracy hurts growth gets no support at all during the 1970s and 1990s, and is often directly contradicted by the 1980s.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Many ®rms argued that empowering consumers with a comprehensive contracts law would prove harmful to ®rms that were already hurting from the ongoing recession.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Decisionism can backfire on the administration, hurting the very prospects of the reforms.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
If we choose not to make atonement for hurting others in the only relevant way - namely directly to them - we must live with this failure.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
When state officials are committed to promoting economic growth, but societal groups demand redistribution, then democracy hurts growth.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
He actually had a pattern of hurting people without power who did not work.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Evidently, this is also the means for the deepest hurts, which neglect no possibility of attack.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
See all examples of hurt
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of hurt?
 

Translations of hurt

in Chinese (Traditional)
（使）感到疼痛, 弄傷, （在精神上）傷害…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
（使）感到疼痛, 弄伤, （在精神上）伤害…
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in Spanish
doler, hacer daño a, lastimar…
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in Portuguese
magoar, ferido, com dor…
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in more languages
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in Urdu
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दुखावणे, दुखापत होणे, दु:ख देणे…
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（身体的に）～を傷つける, ～をけがする, （体の一部が）痛む…
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yaralamak, incitmek, acımak…
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faire mal, avoir mal, faire de la peine…
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fer-se mal (a), fer mal a, fer mal…
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verwonden, bezeren, beledigen…
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உங்கள் உடலின் ஒரு பகுதியில் வலியை உணர்தல், அல்லது யாரையாவது காயப்படுத்துவது அல்லது அவர்களுக்கு வலியை ஏற்படுத்துவது, ஒருவருக்கு உணர்ச்சி ரீதியான வலியை ஏற்படுத்துதல்…
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शरीर के किसी भाग में दर्द, पीड़ा महसूस करना या किसी को चोट पहुँचाना, आहत करना या कष्ट देना…
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દુખવું, ઇજા થવી., ભાવનાત્મક પીડા…
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skade, såre, gøre ondt…
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skada, göra illa, såra…
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mencederakan, melukakan, sakit…
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verletzen, schmerzen, schaden…
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gjøre vondt, få vondt, være vond…
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درد محسوس کرنا, چوٹ کرنا, چوٹ لگنا…
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забити, поранити, ображати…
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మీ శరీరంలోని ఏదో ఒక భాగంలో నొప్పిని కలిగి ఉండడం లేదా ఎవరినైనా గాయపరచడం లేదా ఇతరుల నొప్పికి కారణం కావడం, మరొకరి మానసిక బాధకు కారణం, చెడుకు లేదా కష్టానికి కారణం కావడం…
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শরীরের কোথাও চোট বা আঘাত বা ব্যথা পাওয়া অথবা কাউকে আহত করা বা তাদের যন্ত্রণার কারণ হওয়া, কারও মানসিক পীড়ার কারণ হওয়া, কষ্ট বা ক্ষতির কারণ হওয়া…
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poranit, zranit, bolet…
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menyakiti, melukai, sakit…
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ทำให้เจ็บปวด, ทำให้เสียใจ, เจ็บปวด…
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làm bị thương, xúc phạm, bị đau…
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zranić, boleć, sprawiać ból…
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다치다, 아프다, -를 상처주다…
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ferire, ferirsi, farsi male a…
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hurry someone into something/doing something
hurry up and do something idiom
hurry up and do sth phrase
hurrying
hurt
hurt someone's feelings idiom
hurtful
hurtfully
hurtfulness

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