hur·ry

(hûr′ē, hŭr′-)

v. hur·ried, hur·ry·ing, hur·ries

v.intr.

To move or act with speed or haste. See Synonyms at speed.

v.tr.

1. To cause to move or act with speed or haste: hurried the children to school.

2. To cause to move or act with undue haste; rush: was hurried into marriage.

3. To speed the progress or completion of; expedite: hurried the delivery of the product.

n. pl. hur·ries

1. Activity or motion that is often unduly hurried; haste: I forgot my gloves in my hurry to catch the bus. See Synonyms at haste.

2. The need or wish to hurry; a condition of urgency: in no hurry to leave.

[Possibly Middle English horien, perhaps variant of harien, to harass; see harry.]

hur′ri·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	hurrying - changing location rapidly speeding, speed movement, move, motion - the act of changing location from one place to another; "police controlled the motion of the crowd"; "the movement of people from the farms to the cities"; "his move put him directly in my path" speedup, acceleration, quickening - the act of accelerating; increasing the speed deceleration - the act of decelerating; decreasing the speed; "he initiated deceleration by braking" scud, scudding - the act of moving along swiftly (as before a gale)
Adj.	1.	hurrying - moving with great haste; "affection for this hurrying driving...little man"; "lashed the scurrying horses" scurrying fast - acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly; "fast film"; "on the fast track in school"; "set a fast pace"; "a fast car"

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

In the meantime the Prince and the black girl had again assumed their natural forms, and were hurrying on as fast as they could to reach the river.

View in context

'Don't be alarmed,' said Nicholas, hurrying him back into the room.

View in context

So you understand the roaring wave of fear that swept through the greatest city in the world just as Monday was dawning--the stream of flight rising swiftly to a torrent, lash- ing in a foaming tumult round the railway stations, banked up into a horrible struggle about the shipping in the Thames, and hurrying by every available channel northward and east- ward.

View in context

The level rays of the low afternoon sun entered directly at the window, and as Arthur seated himself in his velvet chair with their pleasant warmth upon him, he was conscious of that quiet well-being which perhaps you and I have felt on a sunny afternoon when, in our brightest youth and health, life has opened a new vista for us, and long to-morrows of activity have stretched before us like a lovely plain which there was no need for hurrying to look at, because it was all our own.

View in context

Lively as he was, it seemed a liveliness that did not satisfy himself; but what decided her belief on the subject, was his staying only a quarter of an hour, and hurrying away to make other calls in Highbury.

View in context