hurry

American  

[hur-ee, huhr-ee] / ˈhɜr i, ˈhʌr i /

verb (used without object)

hurried, hurrying

1. to move, proceed, or act with haste (often followed byup ).

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

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verb (used with object)

hurried, hurrying

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

   Synonyms:

   hasten

2. to hasten; urge forward (often followed byup ).

   Synonyms:

   hustle, expedite, quicken, accelerate

   Antonyms:

   slow, delay

3. to impel or perform with undue haste.

   to hurry someone into a decision.

noun

plural

hurries

1. a state of urgency or eagerness.

   to be in a hurry to meet a train.

2. hurried movement or action; haste.

   Synonyms:

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

   Antonyms:

   deliberation

hurry British  

/ ˈhʌrɪ /

verb

1. to hasten (to do something); rush

2. to speed up the completion, progress, etc, of

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noun

1. haste

2. urgency or eagerness

3. informal

   1. easily

      you won't beat him in a hurry

   2. willingly

      we won't go there again in a hurry

Related Words

See rush ¹.

Other Word Forms

• hurrying noun
• hurryingly adverb
• overhurry verb
• unhurrying adjective
• unhurryingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of hurry

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”

Example Sentences

On Monday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled he isn’t in a hurry to adjust policy, given uncertainty about how the war will affect the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal

“By five o’clock. Guests are supposed to start arriving by five o’clock, so I am, kind of, in a hurry.”

From Literature

She opens her mouth to say something, but Dad lays on the horn and makes hand gestures telling me to hurry up.

From Literature

He was in a hurry to get in, get out, and get back home.

From Literature

"If you are not in a hurry to move in, you might consider restoring a ruined castle - not for the faint hearted, but achievable," said Newlands, whose own castle is in Aberdeenshire.

From BBC

Related Words

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