hurtle

hurtle — verb

1. to travel at extremely high speed, often feeling uncontrolled or unsafe — pictur

1.動詞不及物B2
釋義

to travel at extremely high speed, often feeling uncontrolled or unsafe — picture a car racing down a steep mountain road or a cyclist flying around a blind corner.

例句

The blue car hurtled down the narrow street, barely missing a parked bicycle.

hurtle + direction phrase (down/along/toward)

Feng hurtled around the corner on his bike and nearly hit a delivery truck.

同義詞
  • race

    focuses on speed and competing, less on danger

  • rush

    can be used for hurried movement, not necessarily dangerous

  • tear

    informal, suggests moving at top speed, often recklessly

  • zoom

    informal, lighter tone, usually not dangerous

反義詞
  • crawl

    moving extremely slowly

  • creep

    moving slowly and carefully

文法句型

hurtle + adverb/preposition (down/along/toward/past/through)

用法筆記

Almost always used with an adverbial of direction (down, along, toward, past, through). The subject is typically a moving vehicle, person, or object that is out of control or moving at a speed that feels risky.

常見錯誤

❌The car hurtled slowly around the bend.
✅The car hurtled around the bend.
💡hurtle already means to move very fast, so speed adverbs (slowly, gradually) conflict with its meaning.

2. to throw something with great strength, sending it through the air quickly — for

2.動詞及物C1
釋義

to throw something with great strength, sending it through the air quickly — for example, hurtling a backpack across a room in anger or hurtling a stone at a target.

例句

In frustration, Paloma hurtled her backpack across the empty classroom.

hurtle + object + across [space]

The experienced pitcher hurtled the ball toward home plate at high speed.

同義詞
  • hurl

    very close in meaning, more common than hurtle for throwing

  • fling

    suggests a loose, often careless throwing motion

  • lob

    a gentler, arching throw, much less forceful

反義詞
  • catch

    receiving rather than sending

  • hold

    keeping rather than releasing

文法句型

hurtle + object + adverb/preposition

用法筆記

Much less common than sense 1. The object is usually something physically throwable (bag, stone, ball). Often implies anger, frustration, or great effort. This sense is similar in meaning to hurl.

常見錯誤

❌She hurtled the idea across the table.
✅She hurtled the book across the table.
💡hurtle (sense 2) requires a physical object that can be thrown; it is not used for abstract things.