hurry

[ hur-ee, huhr-ee ]

verb (used without object)

, hur·ried, hur·ry·ing.

1. to move, proceed, or act with haste (often followed by up ):

   Hurry, or we'll be late. Hurry up, it's starting to rain.

verb (used with object)

, hur·ried, hur·ry·ing.

1. to drive, carry, or cause to move or perform with speed.

   Synonyms: hasten

2. to hasten; urge forward (often followed by up ).

   Synonyms: hustle, expedite, quicken, accelerate

   Antonyms: slow, delay

3. to impel or perform with undue haste:

   to hurry someone into a decision.

noun

, plural hur·ries.

1. a state of urgency or eagerness:

   to be in a hurry to meet a train.

2. hurried movement or action; haste.

   Synonyms: quickness, ado, bustle, speed, dispatch, expedition, celerity

   Antonyms: deliberation

hurry

/ ˈhʌrɪ /

verb

1. introften foll byup to hasten (to do something); rush
2. troften foll byalong to speed up the completion, progress, etc, of

noun

1. haste
2. urgency or eagerness
3. in a hurry informal.
   1. easily

      you won't beat him in a hurry

   2. willingly

      we won't go there again in a hurry

Derived Forms

• ˈhurryingly, adverb
• ˈhurrying, nounadjective

Other Words From

• hurry·ing·ly adverb
• over·hurry verb overhurried overhurrying
• un·hurry·ing adjective
• un·hurry·ing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of hurry¹

First recorded in 1580–90; expressive word of uncertain origin, compare Middle English horyed (attested once) “rushed, impelled,” Middle High German hurren “to move quickly”

Word History and Origins

Origin of hurry¹

C16 horyen, probably of imitative origin; compare Middle High German hurren; see scurry

Synonym Study

See rush ¹.

Example Sentences

I could complain about how, two out of eight episodes in, Agent Carter is in no hurry to introduce its real villain.

From The Daily Beast

Lorenzo Music delivers his lines as the title character in no particular hurry and with plenty of bite.

From The Daily Beast

And so some long-standing policies have changed dramatically and in a hurry.

From The Daily Beast

They also want the administration to hurry up and decide how it plans to go after the group, both in Iraq and in Syria.

From The Daily Beast

Johnson indicated the school was in no hurry to unveil a new nickname or logo.

From The Daily Beast

With him one is at high pressure all the time, and I have gained a good many more ideas from him than I can work up in a hurry.

From Project Gutenberg

The little crowd and the boats on the beach were right under them and no one paid any attention or seemed to be in a hurry.

From Project Gutenberg

That was because he was hungry, you see, but pigs nearly always eat fast, as though they were continually in a hurry.

From Project Gutenberg

Murat was in no hurry to commence his reign, and his subjects showed no great anxiety to see their new ruler.

From Project Gutenberg

Enough for him that it was one of the hated race, to be killed in a violent hurry or fled from in tremendous haste!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• dash
• hasten
• hustle
• jog
• rush
• scoot
• scurry
• whirl
• whisk
• zip