Word.ws English Dictionary

hurting a fly

hurting a fly is the present participle and gerund of hurt a fly.

Meaning of hurt a fly

Verb

hurt a fly (third-person singular simple present hurts a fly, present participle hurting a fly, simple past and past participle hurt a fly)

  1. (idiomatic) To hurt or damage something even a little.
    • Talking of being eaten by dogs, there's a dachshund at Brinkley who when you first meet him will give you the impression that he plans to convert you into a light snack between his regular meals. Pay no attention. It's all eyewash. […] He wouldn't hurt a fly, but he has to put up a front because...1960, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter XI, in Jeeves in the Offing
    Synonyms:
    harm a fly

Questions about hurting a fly

What is hurting a fly the present participle and gerund of?
Hurting a fly is the present participle and gerund of hurt a fly.

Words near hurting a fly in the dictionary

  1. hurtfulness
  2. hurtfulnesses
  3. hurtier
  4. hurtiest
  5. hurting
  6. hurting a fly
  7. hurting for
  8. hurting someone's feelings
  9. hurtingest
  10. hurtingly
  11. hurtings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hurting a fly (page history and authors); hurt a fly (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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