Definition of hurt verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

hurt

verb

/hɜːt/

/hɜːrt/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they hurt	/hɜːt/ /hɜːrt/
he / she / it hurts	/hɜːts/ /hɜːrts/
past simple hurt	/hɜːt/ /hɜːrt/
past participle hurt	/hɜːt/ /hɜːrt/
-ing form hurting	/ˈhɜːtɪŋ/ /ˈhɜːrtɪŋ/

Idioms

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[transitive, intransitive] to cause physical pain to somebody/yourself; to injure somebody/yourself
- hurt something He hurt his back playing squash.
- Strong light hurts my eyes.
- hurt yourself Did you hurt yourself?
- hurt (somebody) Stop it. You're hurting me.
- No one was seriously hurt in the accident.
- My back is really hurting me today.
- My shoes hurt—they're too tight.
Synonyms injure
injurewound ▪ hurt ▪ bruise ▪ sprain ▪ pull ▪ strainThese words all mean to harm yourself or somebody else physically, especially in an accident.
injure to harm yourself or somebody else physically, especially in an accident:
He injured his knee playing hockey.
Three people were injured in the crash.
wound [often passive] (rather formal) to injure part of the body, especially by making a hole in the skin using a weapon:
50 people were seriously wounded in the attack.
Wound is often used to talk about people being hurt in war or in other attacks that affect a lot of people.hurt to cause physical pain to somebody/yourself; to injure somebody/yourself:
Did you hurt yourself?
injure or hurt?You can hurt or injure a part of the body in an accident. Hurt emphasizes the physical pain caused; injure emphasizes that the part of the body has been damaged in some way.
bruise to make a blue, brown or purple mark (= a bruise) appear on the skin after somebody has fallen or been hit; to develop a bruisesprain to injure part of your body, especially your ankle, wrist or knee, by suddenly twisting it, causing pain and swellingpull to damage a muscle, etc., by using too much forcestrain to injure yourself or part of your body by making it work too hard:
Don’t strain your eyes by reading in poor light.
Patterns
- to injure/hurt/strain yourself
- to injure/hurt/sprain/pull/strain a muscle
- to injure/hurt/sprain your ankle/foot/knee/wrist/hand
- to injure/hurt/strain your back/shoulder/eyes
- to injure/hurt your spine/neck
- to be badly/severely/slightly injured/wounded/hurt/bruised/sprained
Collocations Injuries
InjuriesBeing injured
- have a fall/an injury
- receive/suffer/sustain a serious injury/a hairline fracture/(especially British English) whiplash/a gunshot wound
- hurt/injure your ankle/back/leg
- damage the brain/an ankle ligament/your liver/the optic nerve/the skin
- pull/strain/tear a hamstring/ligament/muscle/tendon
- sprain/twist your ankle/wrist
- break a bone/your collarbone/your leg/three ribs
- fracture/crack your skull
- break/chip/knock out/lose a tooth
- burst/perforate your eardrum
- dislocate your finger/hip/jaw/shoulder
- bruise/cut/graze your arm/knee/shoulder
- burn/scald yourself/your tongue
- bang/bump/hit/ (informal) bash your elbow/head/knee (on/against something)
Treating injuries
- treat somebody for burns/a head injury/a stab wound
- examine/clean/dress/bandage/treat a bullet wound
- repair a damaged/torn ligament/tendon/cartilage
- amputate/cut off an arm/a finger/a foot/a leg/a limb
- put on/ (formal) apply/take off (especially North American English) a Band-Aid™/(British English) a plaster/a bandage
- need/require/put in/ (especially British English) have (out)/ (North American English) get (out) stitches
- put on/rub on/ (formal) apply cream/ointment/lotion
- have/receive/undergo (British English) physiotherapy/(North American English) physical therapy
Wordfinder
- bandage
- bleed
- bruise
- fracture
- hurt
- injury
- plaster
- sore
- swell
- wound
Extra Examples
- I was shaken, but not actually hurt.
- She fell and hurt her leg quite badly.
Topics Health problemsa2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- badly
- seriously
- actually
- …
See full entry
[intransitive] to feel painful
- My feet hurt.
- My head hurts.
- Ouch! That hurt!
- it hurts when/if… It hurts when I bend my knee.
- It hurts if I move my neck.
- it hurts to do something It hurts to breathe.
Synonyms hurt
hurtache ▪ burn ▪ sting ▪ tingle ▪ itch ▪ throbThese are all words that can be used when part of your body feels painful.
hurt (of part of your body) to feel painful; (of an action) to cause pain:
My feet hurt.
Ouch! That hurt!
ache to feel a continuous pain that is not severe:
I’m aching all over.
burn (of part of your body) to feel very hot and painful:
Our eyes were burning from the chemicals in the air.
sting to make somebody feel a sharp burning pain or uncomfortable feeling in part of their body; (of part of your body) to feel this pain:
My eyes were stinging from the smoke.
tingle (of part of your body) to feel as if a lot of small sharp points are pushing into the skin there:
The cold air made her face tingle.
itch to have an uncomfortable feeling on your skin that makes you want to scratch; to make your skin feel like this:
I itch all over.
Does the rash itch?
throb (of part of your body) to feel pain as a series of regular beats:
His head throbbed painfully.
Patterns
- your eyes hurt/ache/burn/sting/itch
- your skin hurts/burns/stings/tingles/itches
- your flesh hurts/burns/stings/tingles
- your head hurts/aches/throbs
- your stomach hurts/aches
- to really hurt/ache/burn/sting/tingle/itch/throb
- to hurt/ache/sting/itch badly/a lot
- It hurts/stings/tingles/itches.
Extra Examples
- My ankle still hurts quite badly.
- Ouch! It really hurts.
- I knew it was going to hurt—but not that much!
- Does it hurt a lot?
Topics Health problemsa2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- badly
- a lot
- really
- …
verb + hurt
- be going to
- begin to
See full entry
[intransitive, transitive] to make somebody unhappy or upset
- What really hurt was that he never answered my calls.
- hurt somebody/something I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you.
- I didn't want to hurt his feelings.
- it hurts to do something It always hurts to lose, especially in the final.
- it hurts somebody to do something It hurt me to think that he would lie to me.
Extra Examples
- They never told me why and that really hurt.
- Are you deliberately trying to hurt me?
- Her remarks hurt him deeply.
- I never meant to hurt anyone.
- Why would I want to hurt her?
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- badly
- deeply
- really
- …
verb + hurt
- attempt to
- try to
- want to
- …
See full entry
[intransitive]
be hurting
(informal) to feel unhappy or upset
- I know you're hurting and I want to help you.
Topics Feelingsb2
[transitive] hurt somebody/something to have a bad effect on somebody/something
- Hard work never hurt anyone.
- Many people on low incomes will be hurt by the government's plans.
- High interest rates are hurting the local economy.
Synonyms damage
damagehurt ▪ harm ▪ impairThese words all mean to have a bad effect on somebody/something.
damage to cause physical harm to something, making it less attractive, useful or valuable; to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
The fire badly damaged the town hall.
emotionally damaged children
hurt (rather informal) to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
Hard work never hurt anyone.
harm to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
Pollution can harm marine life.
damage, hurt or harm?Hurt is slightly less formal than damage or harm, especially when it is used in negative statements: It won’t hurt him to have to wait a bit. • It won’t damage/harm him to have to wait a bit. Harm is also often used to talk about ways in which things in the natural world such as wildlife and the environment are affected by human activity.
impair (rather formal) to damage somebody’s health, abilities or chances:
Even one drink can impair driving performance.
Patterns
- to damage/hurt/harm/impair somebody’s chances
- to damage/hurt/harm somebody’s interests/reputation
- to damage/harm/impair somebody’s health
- to seriously/greatly damage/hurt/harm/impair somebody/something
- to badly/severely damage/hurt/impair somebody/something
[intransitive]
be hurting (for something)
(North American English) to be in a difficult situation because you need something, especially money
- His campaign is already hurting for money.

Word OriginMiddle English (originally in the senses ‘ to strike’ and ‘a blow’): from Old French hurter (verb), hurt (noun), perhaps ultimately of Germanic origin.

Idioms

hit somebody where it hurts