1Cause physical pain or injury to.

1. 1.1no object (of a part of the body) suffer pain.
   my back hurts

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He felt light headed and dizzy and his body was hurting.
   • And his eyes were hurting, throbbing, burning when he looked at her.
   • Her ribs ached, her stomach hurt unmercifully, and her back was killing her.
   • She moaned in irritation as her eyes began to hurt, and the pain slowly returned to her body.
   • I laugh so hard my whole body starts hurting again, causing me to flinch.
   • My chest hurts and my body feels canted at the wrong angle.
   • My body hurts on every square inch of it, feeling as through I've had a million cuts made to me, every nerve crying out.
   • My left shoulder had been hurting for a year since a bike accident.
   • He was tired and his body was hurting all over, but he persevered.
   • My body hurts so much that I can barely hold myself upright.
   • Her arm hurt, her stomach hurt, her face ached on both sides, and she tasted the salty sweetness of blood in her mouth.
   • The problem when you are injured is regaining strength - but your body hurts all the time and exercise causes even more pain.
   • Players need to stretch out the parts of the body that hurt, relax and let the pulse rate drop.
   • His face was swollen, his nose hurt, his back ached, and his corn was bothering him.
   • My body hurts, but the coldness is so predominant that I don't care.
   • Her stomach hurt, her head throbbed, and her hands felt clammy and cold.
   • Every muscle in your body hurts, and that I didn't enjoy at all.
   • His head felt like it was on fire, and his whole body hurt with a dull ache.
   • My mom says it will hurt for about a week after the surgery.
   • Being ill sucks, I have a summer fluey/cold thing which is making my bones ache, and my head hurt and I am tired and falling asleep at the drop of a hat.

   Synonyms

   be painful, be sore, be tender, cause pain, cause discomfort, ache, smart, sting, burn, tingle, throb
2. 1.2 Cause mental pain or distress to (a person or their feelings)
   she didn't want to hurt his feelings

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He jumped about a foot into the air, startled that a girl he had hurt so badly in the past could still have any feelings for him.
   • Their paranoia is discrediting them, burning bridges, and hurting us.
   • It hurts me sore to say it, but, however she got there, we heard or saw nothing.
   • It was always painful to hurt other people's feelings, and to destroy their hopes along with it.

   Synonyms

   distress, pain, wound, offend, sting, upset, sadden, devastate, mortify, grieve, aggrieve, be hurtful to, hurt someone's feelings, cause sorrow, cause suffering, cause anguish, make unhappy, give offence to, cut to the quick
3. 1.3no object (of a person) feel mental pain or distress.
   he was hurting badly, but he smiled through his tears

   Example sentencesExamples

   • If one person was hurting, he or she could pretty much count on having a good 4 or 5 people sticking close and offering an ear or a shoulder.
   • If I do it right now it'll just be a case of lashing out while I'm hurting, wanting other people to hurt too - and that's not my style.
   • This state of affairs is very, very sad with many people hurting and, indeed, becoming disillusioned.
   • She was hurting, badly, and if she stayed the whole time, well that was just going to be a shock.
   • However it took a few seconds before I remembered why I was hurting so badly.
   • Understanding how much another person hurts emotionally is good and bad.
   • He replied sternly, but his voice indicated how badly he was hurting.
   • They hurt for the wounded and the dead but they are eager to continue to attack.
   • We cannot continue to turn a blind eye or ear and pretend that all is well when many people are hurting and yearning for help.
   • A lot of people are hurting because of this sad decision.
   • The desperate need for attention is obviously overwhelming and I hurt for kids like this.
   • People are hurting and they are told relentlessly day in and day out that liberals from big cities are the ones inflicting the pain.
   • We realise, these people are hurting, they've lost their mother.
   • We were hurting badly and I wanted to know how Paul was feeling because he had missed the decisive penalty.
   • She would never let it show to anyone how she really felt, no-one knew just how badly she was hurting inside, not even her closest friends knew the half of it.
   • At least in there she knew she could never hurt as badly as she had last night.
   • Right now, his sister was hurting badly and it made him want to cry too.
   • I mean, some people are hurting out there, and they need the money, and they should go ahead and accept it and move on.
   • However, it is two hours into the program and a recurring trend is that these people are hurting as badly as any progressives are in this country.
   • I think I have to be more prepared to let go and let people hurt on their own.
4. 1.4 Be detrimental to.
   high interest rates are hurting the local economy

   Example sentencesExamples

   • With employment, for example, there is a level of distress that hurts demand.
   • The water shortage hurts the local economy as well as growers.
   • That will raise long-term rates, hurt Toronto's equity markets, and delay the recovery.
   • The attitudes encouraged by the drug trade also have hurt the economy.
   • Higher interest rates can hurt stocks because they raise the cost of borrowing to expand businesses and cut into corporate profits.
   • It will hurt local business, according to a survey the newspaper conducted.
   • Raising tax rates would hurt the expansion and weaken the incentives that drive long-term growth.
   • So I guess we're only supposed to intervene when it will hurt our interests.
   • It is highly irresponsible, and hurting the world economy.
   • Economists and bankers say an increase in the prime rate will not hurt the economy.
   • Nonethless, it is still far too high, and the exchange rate is hurting NZ exporters.
   • That's because low and falling utilization rates also hurt profit margins, not just once, but twice.
   • Is the current gambling scandal hurting the economy?
   • This may help the ecosystem, but it hurts the economy.
   • Deficit budgeting has led to higher interest rates, hurting homebuyers and small businesses.
   • But interestingly, not one of us was willing to argue that it hurts the interests of those it is intended to help.
   • Of course, there's always a risk the markets will overdo it and push long-term interest rates too high, hurting the economy in the process.
   • And a sharp spike in interest rates would hurt some homeowners who have just got their foot on the housing ladder.
   • While many in the country welcome this, some say in some way it's hurting the local industry.
   • Raising rates now would hurt economic growth in the US and stifle the green shoots of recovery in Europe.

   Synonyms

   harm, damage, do harm to, be detrimental to, weaken, spoil, mar, blemish, blight, impair, impede, jeopardize, undermine, ruin, wreck, sabotage, cripple
5. 1.5hurt forNorth American informal no object Have a pressing need for.
   Frank wasn't hurting for money

   Example sentencesExamples

   • I take it that the bus routes were created when Metro trains were still relatively new and hurting for customers, and the idea was to feed them with the buses.
   • Now, the question is, of course, if those fail, can she continue to make that kind of money, not that she's hurting for money these days, I'm sure?
   • But at the same time that the U.S. armed forces are hurting for qualified soldiers, they're also firing qualified soldiers just because they're gay.
   • ‘It is difficult to understand exactly why people do this, but it could be an abnormal way of illicitly seeking love or care - they may actually be hurting for love,’ he said.
   • It is difficult even to take seriously the proposition that, whether because of globalization or otherwise, the governments of industrialized countries are hurting for tax revenue.
   • Chinatown, here in Boston, where I live, is hurting for business.
   • Despite her whopping $50 million settlement she is said to be hurting for cash.
   • I heard myself say, ‘With gold chains and designer underwear, I don't think you're hurting for five dollars.’
   • Not terribly big, but big enough that we weren't hurting for money.
   • Well, let's just say she's considered a major player in the world of mystery just about everywhere and she's definitely not hurting for money.

1Physically injured.

1. 1.1 Distressed or offended by another person's behavior.
   “You know I care,” he said, in a hurt voice

   I felt so hurt and alone

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He sat for a moment, looking hurt and confused and not quite able to digest all this terrible news.
   • He tells Hannah he has to get to sleep since he's got work tomorrow and she seems hurt and shocked.
   • But a tearful, hurt Elena's got vengeance on her mind now.
   • At its best, the theater is a balm for hurt minds.
   • Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed the hurt look on her face.
   • Although she wanted to break up with him a long time ago, she is really hurt and heartbroken which is understandable.
   • I questioned him without trying to be judgmental but the hurt tone was definitely there.
   • What we do is provide hope to people who feel alone and lost, hurt and looking for answers.
   • "There were hurt feelings on both sides, you know," he said in a phone interview.
   • He could not look at Zoya's hurt face and he walked off.

1Physical injury; harm.

1. 1.1 Mental pain or distress.
   the hurt of being constantly ignored

   wariness that masked a hurt

   Example sentencesExamples

   • There are so many people around the world who are reliving their hurt.
   • This helps to protect people from the intense hurt of the loss.
   • He felt a pang of hurt and shock, to think that his sis, the one person he could always trust, wouldn't tell him when the wake was.
   • Besides, the last comment he bestowed upon her still caused small pangs of hurt, though he probably did not care.
   • The judge told him that personal hurt is no reason to break the law.
   • One of the most painful ways to wound your partner with guilt is to bring up past hurts and wrongs.
   • Joey felt a pang of hurt at the mention of Lauren's name, but she contained herself.
   • But, in between, there were dozens and dozens of people who showed every sign of genuine hurt and incomprehension.
   • Careseekers come for help with a load of experiences, stresses, new and old hurts, anxieties and questions.
   • I got in the shower, the hot water seemed to away a tiny bit of my stress and hurt, though not much.
   • My concern is that it would harm our relationship by causing hurt or confused feelings.
   • Nicholas sighed lightly and let his gaze fall to the ground, trying not to show his hurt at how distant she was becoming.
   • However, I've learnt from my experiences and my hurts, and I've come to the conclusion that I want to try something different.
   • They will never see their marriage discussed, or their hurts and pains made public.
   • He was remembering hurts, and feeling new pains.
   • Are responses that are more traumatic related to previous hurts, the couples' dynamic, the nature of the infidelity, or some other issue?
   • I look like a cool and chilled person, but I gathered all my past hurt while acting.
   • If there was nothing else that his life had taught him, it was that being distrustful was the only way he could survive amidst endless hurts and pain.
   • Elsie didn't feel sad at those words, nor did she feel a pang of hurt.
   • It's extremely difficult to do, and I think that one of the reasons that people tend to hold on to their hurts or to their upsets is that it does require giving up part of yourself.

   Synonyms

   distress, pain, suffering, grief, misery, anguish, torment, trauma, woe, upset, sadness, sorrow, wretchedness