hurt

/hɜːt/

/hɝːt/ (hurt, hurt)

Definition

A2 to feel pain in a part of your body, or to injure someone or cause them pain: Tell me where it hurts. My head hurts. She says that her ear hurts her. Emma hurt her back when she fell off her horse. Several people were seriously/badly hurt in the explosion.Pain and painful B1 to cause emotional pain to someone: She criticized my writing quite severely and that hurt. He was badly hurt by the end of his marriage.Making people sad, shocked and upset › to cause harm or difficulty: A lot of businesses are being hurt by the current high interest rates. These allegations have seriously hurt her reputation. Hard work never hurt anyone (= does no one any harm).informal One more drink won't hurt (= won't cause any harm).Damaging and spoilingDestroying and demolishing

(Definition of hurt verb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)