To hurt means to cause pain or injury, either physical or emotional. When you stub your toe on a table leg, it hurts: you feel a sharp, unpleasant sensation. When someone says something cruel about your drawing, that hurts too, though in a completely different way.

Physical hurt ranges from minor to serious. A paper cut hurts for a moment. A broken bone hurts much more and takes weeks to heal. Your muscles might hurt after a long soccer practice, which shows they're working hard and getting stronger.

Emotional hurt can be just as real as physical pain, though it's invisible. When a friend breaks a promise or leaves you out on purpose, the hurt you feel is genuine. This kind of hurt might show up as sadness, anger, or that tight feeling in your chest.

The word works as a verb, a noun, and an adjective. You can say “That hurts” when something causes pain, or “I felt a hurt in my ankle” to describe the pain itself. People also use hurt to describe damage: a hurt reputation, a financially hurt business, or an animal hurt in a storm.

When someone is hurting, they need care and support, whether that means a bandage, an apology, or simply knowing someone understands what they're going through.