hurt

 
Pronunciation: /həːt/

verb (past and past participle hurt)

[with object]
  • 1cause pain or injury to: Ow! You’re hurting me! [no object]: does acupuncture hurt?
  • [no object] (of a part of the body) suffer pain: my back hurts
  • cause distress to: she didn’t want to hurt his feelings
  • [no object] (of a person) feel distress: he was hurting badly, but he smiled through his tears
  • 2be detrimental to: high interest rates are hurting the local economy
  • 3 [no object] (hurt for) North American informal have a pressing need for: Frank wasn’t hurting for money

noun

[mass noun]
  • physical injury; harm: rolling properly into a fall minimizes hurt
  • mental pain or distress: her eyes reflected her unhappiness and hurt [count noun]: it’s time to forgive past hurts and open your heart

Derivatives

hurty

adjective (hurtier, hurtiest) ( informal)

Origin:

Middle English (originally in the senses 'to strike' and 'a blow'): from Old French hurter (verb), hurt (noun), perhaps ultimately of Germanic origin