hurry
/ˈhʌ.ɹi/noun, verb
hurry is spelled H-U-R-R-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,679th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hurry means “A rushed action” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hurry is hurries.
How many letters and syllables are in hurry?
| Letters | 5: H-U-R-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,679th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hurry?
Hurry appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,679th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hurry?
- UK /ˈhʌ.ɹi/
- US /ˈhʌ.ɹi/
- /ˈhɝ.i/
Hurry has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-hurry.ogg, En-us-ne-hurry.ogg, En-us-hurry.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hurry?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hurry from its last stressed vowel (/ʌɹi/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of hurry
- hurries plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hurrying participle, present
- hurried participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hurry mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A rushed action.
Why are you in such a big hurry?
- 2
An urgency.
There is no hurry on that paperwork.
- 3
An incidence of a defensive pressure that forces the quarterback to throw the ball earlier than intended or rush their decision, often leading to an incomplete pass or failed play.
- 4
A tremolando passage for violins, etc., accompanying an exciting situation.
verb
- 1
To do things quickly.
He's hurrying because he's late.
- 2
Often with up, to speed up the rate of doing something.
If you don't hurry (up) you won't finish on time.
- 3
To cause to be done quickly.
- 4
To hasten; to impel to greater speed; to urge on.
- 5
To impel to precipitate or thoughtless action; to urge to confused or irregular activity.
- 6
To put: to convey coal in the mine, e.g. from the working to the tramway.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hurry in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | précipitation, hâte , se dépêcher, se hâter |
| German | Eile , sich beeilen, eilen |
| Portuguese | pressa , apressar |
| Spanish | prisa, apuro, afán , apresurarse, apurarse, darse prisa |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hurry come from?
From Middle English horien (“to rush, impel”), probably a variation of hurren (“to vibrate rapidly, buzz”), from Proto-Germanic *hurzaną (“to rush”) (compare Middle High German hurren (“to hasten”), Norwegian hurre (“to whirl around”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”) (compare Latin currō (“to run”), Tocharian A kursär/Tocharian B kwarsär (“league; course”)). Related to hurr, horse, rush. Alternative etymology derives hurry as a variant of harry.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).