hurlhurl /hɜːl $ hɜːrl/ ●○○ verb 
Demonstrators were hurling bricks through the windows. He hurled a chair across the set, smashing lamps and vases.► see thesaurus at throw2hurl abuse/insults/accusations etc (at somebody) to shout at someone in a loud and angry way: He was accused of hurling abuse at the referee.3hurl yourself at/against etc somebody/something to throw yourself at someone or something with a lot of force: She wanted to hurl herself into his arms.4[intransitive, transitive] American English informal to vomit
WORD ORIGINhurl
Origin:
1100-1200 Probably copying the actionVERB TABLE
hurl
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | hurl |
| he, she, it | hurls | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | hurled |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have hurled |
| he, she, it | has hurled | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had hurled |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will hurl |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have hurled |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am hurling |
| he, she, it | is hurling | |
| you, we, they | are hurling | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was hurling |
| you, we, they | were hurling | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been hurling |
| he, she, it | has been hurling | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been hurling |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be hurling |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been hurling |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- He picked up the chair and hurled it across the room.
- Some demonstrators began hurling bricks at the police.
- A single cushion had been hurled across the room and it lay on the edge of the fireplace.
- One error and he would have been torn loose and hurled overboard to be smothered by the driving spray.
- So saying he hurled his spear.
- Somebody else suggested a bombshell hurled by a cannon.
- Sufficiently large impacts can hurl crater ejecta to any point on the lunar surface.
- The stolen gym shoe, hurled by Snecky, caught him on the side of the face.
- With one strong arm he hurled Jane aside.
THESAURUS
to make something such as a ball or stone move quickly through the air using your hand: · I threw the ball back to him.· Protestors began throwing stones at the police.· I just threw the letter in the bin.
(also chuck) informal to throw something, especially in a careless way without using much effort: · She tossed her coat onto the bed.· Can you chuck me the remote control?
to throw something with a lot of force: · Someone hurled a brick through his window.
to angrily throw something somewhere with a lot of force, or to carelessly throw something somewhere because you have very little time: · He flung her keys into the river.· I flung a few things into a suitcase.
to throw something heavy using a lot of effort: · They heaved the log into the river.
to throw something high into the air over someone or something: · The police lobbed tear gas canisters over the heads of the demonstrators.
Longman Language Activatorto throw something to make something such as a ball fly through the air by moving your arm quickly and letting it go: · The boys were throwing and catching a frisbee on the beach.throw something on/onto/across/down etc something: · John stood on the beach, throwing stones into the waves.throw something at somebody/something (=in order to try and hit them): · She was so angry that she threw the pan straight at my head.· A couple of kids started throwing stones at my window.throw somebody something (=when you want someone to catch something): · Carrie threw him a box of matches.throw something to somebody: · The La Scala crowd cheered and threw flowers to the 57-year-old tenor.
informal to throw something, especially in a careless way: chuck something on/out of/into etc something: · She took off her shoes and chucked them on the floor.chuck somebody something: · Chuck me those cigarettes, would you?
to throw something carelessly, especially using a lot of force: sling something into/down/over etc something: · The baggage handlers just sling the cases in the back of the bus -- they don't care if anything gets broken.· He watched horrified as they slung the body over the cliff.
to throw something, especially in a careless, relaxed way: toss something into/out of/down etc something: · The fire was started when a passing motorist carelessly tossed a cigarette out of his car.toss somebody something: · He tossed her last week's edition of the "Herald".toss something to somebody: · "Catch!" said Sandra, tossing her bag to Andy.
to throw something so that it goes high in the air before coming down: lob something over/across etc something: · Local kids keep lobbing empty beer cans over our fence.lob something at somebody (=when you want to hit them): · Someone lobbed a book at me, and it hit me in the face.
American to throw something quickly and carelessly: pitch something across/over/onto etc something: · Tod pitched his coat onto the sofa and ran toward the kitchen.pitch something to somebody (=when you want someone to catch something): · She pitched the ball to the little boy.
to throw a heavy object in a violent way, especially because you are angry: hurl something at somebody/something (=when you want to hit them): · Some demonstrators began hurling bricks at the police.hurl something into/out of/across etc something: · He picked up the chair and hurled it across the room.
to throw something quickly and with a lot of force: fling something out of/down/into etc something: · He pulled the knife from her hand and flung it out of the window.fling something at somebody (=when you want to hit them): · When he gave her the tickets she ripped them up and flung them at him.fling somebody something (=when you want someone to catch something): · We flung him the safety rope.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The other driver started hurling abuse at me.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
The other driver started hurling abuse at me.· In emergency those bubbles could be hurled back pneumatically, and the whole head would blast clear.· When Crist tried to leave, he was seized by the coat and hurled back into the room.· Or only down as far as the moment when the Tiber is hurled back violently from the Etruscan shore?
· In the Down hurling final replay Ballycran will meet Ballygalget.
· A tourist enters the foreground, snaps the apparition, pauses, then hurls a stone at it.· And then hurl that plastic, careful that it lands between the kelp stringers.· Furious fans then hurled bottles and cans at the madman as he was dragged away.· Paris struck first, but Menelaus caught the swift spear on his shield, then hurled his own.· They hesitated as if they expected to be dismissed, and then hurled themselves noisily on Kadan.
NOUN· There is not much to be achieved by hurling insults.· We would try to top the others in hurling personal insults.
· A stun grenade was hurled through the window on the left and landed in the middle of the room.· Another stun grenade was thrown in and a third soldier hurled himself through the window after it, before it had exploded.· All around him people were hurling possessions from windows and dragging horses from smoking stables.· Moments later a shower of stones was hurled at the attic-room windows of the servants' quarters.· In the attack, at Forest Gate, east London, two petrol-filled milk bottles were hurled at a window.· The wind was gusting through the branches of the old oak tree outside and hurling itself against his window.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1[transitive always + adverb/preposition] to throw something with a lot of force, especially because you are angry: - She heard the boys hurling abuse at her, shouting to her to stop, but she shut her ears to them.
- There is not much to be achieved by hurling insults.
- When I first met her she had been hurling abuse at her daughters-in-law who took no notice whatsoever.
- And yet people still hurl themselves at this fence.
- For an instant, Jimmy wondered whether he should hurl himself at the plate-glass windows.
- I hurl myself at the soldier.
- Shopkeeper Nasser Ali, 25, hurled himself at Conroy, who emptied his magazine of all six shots.
- The control room door slammed shut behind Atrimonides as he ran on to the gallery and hurled himself at Christine.
- The warriors hurled themselves at the heads or horns of their animals to make them lie down.
- The wind was gusting through the branches of the old oak tree outside and hurling itself against his window.
Demonstrators were hurling bricks through the windows. He hurled a chair across the set, smashing lamps and vases.► see thesaurus at throw2hurl abuse/insults/accusations etc (at somebody) to shout at someone in a loud and angry way: He was accused of hurling abuse at the referee.3hurl yourself at/against etc somebody/something to throw yourself at someone or something with a lot of force: She wanted to hurl herself into his arms.4[intransitive, transitive] American English informal to vomit