Link Centre Dictionary

hurdle

UK/ˈhɜːdl̩/ US/ˈhɝd(ə)l/ uncommon uk
verb (1) noun (3)

verb

1.

run faster than

  • “in this race, I managed to outran everybody else”

noun

1.

a light movable barrier that competitors must leap over in certain races

2.

an obstacle that you are expected to overcome

  • “the last hurdle before graduation”
3.

the act of jumping over an obstacle

Synonyms

Origin

] From Middle English hurdel, hirdel, herdel, hyrdel, from Old English hyrdel (“frame of intertwined twigs used as a temporary barrier”), diminutive of *hyrd, from Proto-Germanic *hurdiz, from Pre-Germanic *kr̥h₂tis, from Proto-Indo-European *kreh₂-. Cognate with Dutch horde, German Hürde.

Phrases

  • fall at the final hurdle
  • fall at the last hurdle

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.