What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Fence vs Hurdle - What's the difference?

fence | hurdle |

As nouns the difference between fence and hurdle

is that fence is a thin, human-constructed barrier which separates two pieces of land or a house perimeter while hurdle is an artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which athletes or horses jump in a race.

As verbs the difference between fence and hurdle

is that fence is (lb) to enclose, contain or separate by building fence while hurdle is to jump over something while running.

fence

English

(wikipedia fence)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A thin, human-constructed barrier which separates two pieces of land or a house perimeter.
  • *1865 , (Horatio Alger), , Ch.XVII:
  • *:There was a weak place in the fence separating the two inclosures
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=52, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The new masters and commanders , passage=From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences , walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.}}
  • A middleman for transactions of stolen goods.
  • *
  • *:The Bat—they called him the Bat.. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.
  • #The place whence such a middleman operates.
  • Skill in oral debate.
  • The art or practice of fencing.
  • *1599 , (William Shakespeare), ,
  • *:I bruised my shin th' other day with playing at sword and dagger with a master of fence
  • A guard or guide on machinery.
  • (lb) A barrier, for example an emotional barrier.
  • *1980 , (ABBA), (The Winner Takes It All)
  • I was in your arms / Thinking I belonged there
  • A memory barrier.
  • Synonyms

    * (middleman) pawn * (place where a middleman operates) pawn shop

    Derived terms

    * catch fence * electric fence * fencepost * fencing * good fences make good neighbors * picket fence

    See also

    * wire netting * wire gauze

    Verb

    (fenc)
  • (lb) To enclose, contain or separate by building fence.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:O thou wall!dive in the earth, / And fence not Athens.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:a sheepcote fenced about with olive trees
  • *1856 , , ,
  • *:Here are twenty acres of land, and it is all you can properly farm, unless you have more help than yourself. Now fence and cultivate it, and you can make an abundant living.
  • (lb) To defend or guard.
  • *(John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • *:To fence my ear against thy sorceries.
  • (lb) To engage in the selling or buying of stolen goods.
  • *
  • *:The Bat—they called him the Bat.. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.
  • To engage in (the sport) fencing.
  • *1921 , (Rafael Sabatini), ,
  • *:Challenges are flying right and left between these bully-swordsmen, these spadassinicides, and poor devils of the robe who have never learnt to fence with anything but a quill.
  • To jump over a fence.
  • Synonyms

    * (to sell or buy stolen goods) pawn

    hurdle

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which athletes or horses jump in a race.
  • (senseid)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.
  • (UK, obsolete) A sled or crate on which criminals were formerly drawn to the place of execution.
  • (Francis Bacon)
  • (lb)
  • Synonyms

    * See also

    Verb

    (hurdl)
  • 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.
  • To hedge, cover, make, or enclose with hurdles.
  • (Milton)
  • (lb)
  • Anagrams

    *