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PlainSpell

hurtle

hurt·le/ˈhɜɹt(ə)l/verb, noun

hurtle is spelled H-U-R-T-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (hurt·le). It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “hurdle vs hurtle” about 480 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, hurtle means “To move rapidly, violently, or without control, especially in a noisy manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in hurtle?

Letters6: H-U-R-T-L-E
Syllables2: hurt·le
In writingabout once in every 9 million words; the 90,432nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is hurtle?

Hurtle appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd 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 hurtle?

  • UK /ˈhɜːtl̩/
  • US /ˈhɜɹt(ə)l/
  • US [-ɾ(ə)l]

Hurtle has 2 syllables, split hurt·le in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-AcpoKrane-hurtle.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with hurtle

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

hurdle vs hurtle480 G

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with hurtle?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hurtle from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹtl/):

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 hurtle

  • hurtles present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • hurtling participle, present
  • hurtled participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does hurtle mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    archaicTo propel or throw (something) hard or violently; to fling, to hurl.

    He hurtled the wad of paper angrily at the trash can and missed by a mile.

  2. 2

    archaicTo cause (someone or something) to collide with or hit another person or thing; or (two people or things) to collide with or hit each other.

  3. 3

    archaicTo attack or criticize (someone) verbally or in writing.

  4. 4

    To move rapidly, violently, or without control, especially in a noisy manner.

    The car hurtled down the hill at 90 miles per hour.

  5. 5

    archaicOf a person or thing: to collide with or hit another person or thing, especially with force or violence; also, of two people or things: to collide together; to clash.

  6. 6

    archaicTo make a sound of things clashing or colliding together; to clatter, to rattle; hence, to move with such a sound.

  7. 7

    archaicOf two people, etc.: to meet in a shocking or violent encounter; to clash; to jostle.

noun

  1. 1

    An act of colliding with or hitting; a collision.

  2. 2

    A rapid or uncontrolled movement; a dash, a rush.

  3. 3

    A sound of clashing or colliding; a clattering, a rattling.

  4. 4

    (Violent) disagreement; conflict.

  5. 5

    obsoleterareSynonym of hurtleberry or whortleberry (“any of several shrubs belonging to the genus Vaccinium; a berry of one of these shrubs”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Hurtle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Germanschleudern, schmeißen (to propel or throw (something) hard or…), fliegen, rasen, sausen (to move rapidly, violently, or without control)
Frenchfoncer, s'élancer (to move rapidly, violently, or without control)
Spanishbarajustar (to move rapidly, violently, or without control)

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 hurtle come from?

The verb is derived from Middle English hurtelen, hurtlen (“to cast, hurl, throw; to charge at; to clash in combat, fight; to collide; to injure; to knock down; to propel, push, thrust; to rush; to stumble”) [and other forms], from hurten (“to injure, wound, hurt (physically or figuratively); to damage, impair; to hurt one’s feelings, humiliate; to receive an injury; to collide into; to propel, push, thrust; to stumble”) (see further at English hurt (verb)) + -el-, -elen (frequentative suffix).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after hurtle