Hurdle
WordNet
noun
(1) The act of jumping over an obstacle
(2) A light movable barrier that competitors must leap over in certain races
(3) An obstacle that you are expected to overcome
"The last hurdle before graduation"
verb
(4) Jump a hurdle
WiktionaryText
Noun
- An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which men or horses jump in a race.
- A perceived obstacle.
- A movable frame of wattled twigs, osiers, or withes and stakes, or sometimes of iron, used for enclosing land, for folding sheep and cattle, for gates, etc.; also, in fortification, used as revetments, and for other purposes.
- 1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, Volume 4, p. 414.
- The practice of folding sheep was general, and the purchase of hurdles was a regular charge in the shepherd's account.
- 1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, Volume 4, p. 414.
- In England, a sled or crate on which criminals were formerly drawn to the place of execution. —Francis Bacon.
Verb
- To jump over something while running.
- He hurdled the bench in his rush to get away.
- To compete in the track and field events of hurdles (e.g. high hurdles).
- To overcome an obstacle.