hurdlenoun
uk/ˈhɜː.dəl/us/ˈhɝː.dəl/hurdle noun (FENCE)
[ C ] a frame or fence for jumping over in a race:
He fell at the last hurdle.
She cleared (= jumped over) all the hurdles easily and raced to the finishing line.
hurdles [ plural ]
a race in which people or horses jump over hurdles:
the 400-metre hurdles
More examples
- There are still a few technical hurdles to be surmounted before the product can be put on sale to the public.
- Getting planning permission for the building was only the first hurdle.
- She overcame many hurdles to get to where she is today.
- He knew that many hurdles stood between him and success.
- We've overcome all the major hurdles.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Athletics
- athlete
- athletics
- caber
- finish line
- finishing line 1
- finishing line
- follow through
- hammer throwing
- hurdler
- marathon
- relay
- running
- sack race
- shot
- sprint
- stagger
- steeplechase
- track
- track meet
- water jump
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Horse racing
hurdle noun (PROBLEM)
a problem that you have to deal with before you can make progress:
Getting a work permit was the first hurdle to overcome.
The cost of this exercise is proving to be a major hurdle.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Difficult things and people
- a (heavy) cross to bear idiom
- a bitter pill (to swallow) idiom
- a hard/tough nut to crack idiom
- albatross
- bane
- chill
- equation
- handicap
- hiccup
- hot potato
- impediment
- job
- labyrinth
- liability
- nut
- the chill wind of sth idiom
- the hard way idiom
- the sharp end
- the/a devil of a sth idiom
- thorn in your flesh/side idiom
See more results »
hurdleverb [ I or T ]
uk/ˈhɜː.dəl/us/ˈhɝː.dəl/to run in a race in which there are hurdles to be jumped over, or to jump over something while running:
He hurdled the gate and scrambled up the hill.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Athletics
- athlete
- athletics
- caber
- finish line
- finishing line 1
- finishing line
- follow through
- hammer throwing
- hurdler
- marathon
- relay
- running
- sack race
- shot
- sprint
- stagger
- steeplechase
- track
- track meet
- water jump
See more results »