From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhurthurt1 /hɜːt $ hɜːrt/ ●●● S1 W2 verb (past tense and past participle hurt) 1 injure somebody [transitive]INJURE to injure yourself or someone else Was anyone hurt in the accident? Put that thing down – you might hurt someone with it.hurt your arm/leg/nose etc He hurt his knee playing football.hurt yourself Be careful you don’t fall and hurt yourself.2 feel pain [intransitive]HURT/CAUSE PAIN to feel pain in part of your body → ache My back hurts. Where does it hurt? It hurts when I try to move my leg.hurt like hell informal (=hurt very much) My shoulder hurts like hell.3 cause pain [transitive]HURT/CAUSE PAIN to cause pain in a part of your body The sun’s hurting my eyes.4 insult somebody [intransitive, transitive]UPSET to make someone feel very upset, unhappy, sad etc I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.it hurts (somebody) to do something What hurts is that he never even said goodbye. It hurt me to think that you hated me.5 bad effect [transitive]HARM/BE BAD FOR to have a bad effect on someone or something, especially by making them less successful or powerful Foreign competition has hurt the company’s position in the market. 6 → be hurting7 → something won’t/doesn’t hurtTHESAURUSto injure yourself or someone elsehurt to damage part of your body, or someone else’s bodyShe slipped on the ice and hurt herself badly.Be careful you don’t hurt anyone with that knife.injure to hurt yourself quite severely, or to be hurt in an accident or fightingOne of our players has injured his leg, and will be out of the game for weeks.Four people have been seriously injured on the Arizona highway.wound to deliberately hurt someone using a weapon such as a knife or gunThe gunmen shot and killed twelve people and wounded three others.maim /meɪm/ [usually passive] to hurt someone very severely, especially so that they lose an arm, leg etc, often as the result of an explosionIn countries where there are landmines, people are killed and maimed daily.break to hurt a part of your body by breaking a bone in itThe X-ray showed that I had broken my wrist.bruise to hurt a part of your body when you fall on it or hit it, causing a dark mark to appear on your skinCathy fell off her bike and bruised her legs badly.sprain/twist to hurt your knee, wrist, shoulder etc by suddenly twisting it while you are movingI jumped down from the wall and landed awkwardly, spraining my ankle.strain/pull to hurt one of your muscles by stretching it or using it too muchWhen you are lifting heavy loads, be careful not to strain a back muscle.dislocate to damage a joint in your body in a way that moves the two parts of the joint out of their normal positionOur best batsman dislocated his shoulder during training.paralyse [usually passive] to make someone lose the ability to move part or all of their bodyA climbing accident had left him paralysed from the chest down.when part of your body feels painfulhurt if part of your body hurts, it feels painfulMy chest hurts when I cough.ache to hurt with a continuous painI’d been walking all day and my legs were really aching.throb to feel a bad pain that comes and goes again in a regular and continuous wayLou had a terrible headache and his whole head seemed to be throbbing.sting to feel a sharp pain, or to make someone feel this, especially in your eyes, throat, or skinMy throat stings every time I swallow. This injection may sting a little.smart to hurt with a sudden sharp pain – used especially about your eyes, or your skin where something has hit youHer eyes were smarting from the thick smoke.Jackson’s face was still smarting from the punch.burn to feel very hot and painful or uncomfortableBe careful because this chemical will make your skin burn.His eyes were burning because of the gas.pinch if something you are wearing pinches you, it is too tight and presses painfully on your skinThe shirt was a bit too small and it was pinching my neck.something is killing me spoken informal used when something feels very painfulMy legs are killing me.These shoes are killing me. a bad back/leg/arm etc if you have a bad back/leg/arm etc, it feels painfulHe’s off work with a bad back. → See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
hurt• My feet hurt.• My neck felt stiff and my shoulder hurt.• I fell and banged my knee, and it really hurts.• Dan was a good man. He'd never hurt anyone deliberately.• Most companies have been hurt by the economic slowdown.• I would never do anything to hurt her.• It is going to hurt him here.• The fact that his parents take little interest in his life hurts him more than he admits.• Nick's hurt his back, and the doctor says he will have to rest for a few weeks.• It won't hurt, I promise.• It really hurt me that Troy didn't even bother to introduce me.• It hurts me to think that you still don't trust me.• Let go of my arm! You're hurting me!• Stop it - you're hurting me.• I wanted to sit down, 'cause my leg was really hurting me.• I can't go running this week - I've hurt my foot.• It hurts my knees to run.• Put the stick down, Terry. You might hurt someone with it.• Sammy! Don't throw stones, you'll hurt someone.• Charlton coped easily defensively, knowing that Boro lacked the pace to hurt them.• Did it hurt when they stuck the needle in?• That's a sharp knife. Be careful you don't hurt yourself.hurt your arm/leg/nose etc• Leroy looked at me and snorted, as if the sight of me hurt his nose.• It hurt his arm a little.• The man had hurt his leg, and was lying on the couch in a corner.• It hurt her arms but had no effect on the android.hurt like hell• I know he lost his legs first, and then his fingers-he died alone and it hurt like hell.• I was able to breathe only with the utmost difficulty, and my arm hurt like hell.• He forgets that the water hurts like hell, and dying in it is no reward for living this life.• My forehead hurt like hell and my body was bruised all over, but no bones were broken.• It hurt like hell but he was damned if he was going to let the gunman escape.hurt ... feelings• Don't be afraid of hurting his feelings.• He could hardly turn her down, it would hurt her feelings.• I hoped it wouldn't hurt his feelings.• She is always mean to me, and hurts my feelings.• The reason I say this is not to hurt your feelings.• It may mean heated arguments, harsh words and hurt feelings, but once the air is cleared everyone will feel better.• But it hurt my feelings, do you see?• It hurt my feelings very very badly.hurthurt2 ●●● S3 adjective 1 [not usually before noun]INJURE suffering pain or injury SYN injuredbadly/seriously hurt Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. Sometimes players get hurt in training.2 UPSETvery upset or unhappy because someone has said or done something unkind, dishonest, or unfair Rachel felt hurt and betrayed. He’s no good for you, Jenny. You’ll only get hurt again. his hurt pride She wore a hurt expression on her face.very/deeply hurt Alice was deeply hurt that she hadn’t been invited.Examples from the Corpus
hurt• I've been through it all before, and I felt sure you were going to get hurt.• I don't want anybody to get hurt.• In part two: Hard Cheese.Bank holiday tradition leaves twelve hurt.• None of the children have been seriously hurt.• Jackson was said to be 'deeply hurt' by the newspaper reports about him.• a hurt expression• The lightning bolt hit the house in Kingsteignton, south Devon, but no-one was hurt, said police.• Gretta was really hurt that none of her friends came to visit her in the hospital.• Bill felt very hurt when he realized she had lied to him.• Male speaker People are going to get hurt, whichever way the vote goes.badly/seriously hurt• It was a miracle none of us was seriously hurt.• Patrick Halleran, but were not seriously hurt.• Qaddafi escaped, although his daughter was killed and his prestige was badly hurt.• She came to Gentle's aid as soon as he appeared, the exchange between them short and functional: was he badly hurt?• He sees a specialist tomorrow but the club are optimistic that he is not as badly hurt as first feared.• Fortunately Diana was not seriously hurt by the fall although she did suffer severe bruising around her stomach.• Williams, who was not seriously hurt, continued to play.• Another of those badly hurt was Mr Alan Ray, a taxi driver.felt hurt• He felt hurt and angry and older than he'd ever felt in his life before.• He felt hurt by this failure, really wounded.• Kim also felt hurt initially, but now the three are the best of friends.• Selfishly, I felt hurt that he had not bothered to get in touch with me.hurthurt3 ●○○ noun [countable, uncountable] UPSETa feeling of great unhappiness because someone, especially someone you trust, has treated you badly or unfairly She saw the hurt in his eyes. all the hurts and wrongs of the past → harmExamples from the Corpus
hurt• She already knew that she would but inside she felt a great hurt begin to grow.• It was the time of my own personal greatness, before any human hurt had got in the way.• I can hardly see it anyway, through the mist of my hurt.• Man, however, lacks the emotional capacity of woman, and can stand free of sentimental attachments or hurts.• I cannot describe the hurt and anger I feel.• Sylvie could still remember the hurt of being treated like an outsider.• Their hurt found expression in the person of the secretary's wife, sitting opposite.Origin hurt1 (1100-1200) Old French hurter “to crash violently into” 