struggled; struggling
ˈstrə-g(ə-)liŋ 
1
: to make strenuous or violent efforts in the face of difficulties or opposition
struggling with the problem
2
: to proceed with difficulty or with great effort
struggled through the high grass
struggling to make a living
2
: a violent effort or exertion : an act of strongly motivated striving
a struggle to make ends meet
3
: tussle sense 1
during the struggle the gun went off
Synonyms
Examples of struggle in a Sentence
Verb
He has been struggling with the problem of how to keep good workers from leaving.
They struggled for the right to vote.
She struggled up the hill through the snow.
She struggled to lift the package by herself, but it was too heavy.
He struggled to get free of the wreckage.
He's been struggling in math class for most of the year.
The team has continued to struggle in recent weeks.
He was living as a struggling artist in the city.
Noun
the struggle for civil rights
There was a struggle for the gun.
There was no sign of a struggle.
It was a struggle getting out of bed this morning.
Recent Examples on the Web
Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
The rest of the funding will go to communities in the interior of the country, which have also been struggling to accommodate and assist large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers arriving to their cities.
—Rafael Carranza, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2024
In Paramount’s upcoming A Quiet Place: Day One, Lupita Nyong’o plays a woman struggling to escape an alien invasion with her tuxedo cat Frodo.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024
The women may also be struggling to reintegrate into society.
—Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
The beloved comedian struggled with drug addiction and died in December 1997 from an overdose at the age of 33.
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2024
If that happened, fewer immigrants might want to come to the United States, and those who did might struggle to find work.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Both the United States and the United Nations, which established a trust fund for Haiti, have struggled to raise the money.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 12 Apr. 2024
As bighorn sheep ram tags become increasingly hard to draw — a result of more applicants, diminishing nonresident allocations, and struggling sheep populations — some hunters are changing their goals.
—Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 11 Apr. 2024
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024
He’s helped with conservation work, especially with rhinos and elephants, in addition to getting to know its people and their struggles.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
And in a key role as a pub regular, Trevor Fox makes palpable the injury and distrust that can warp an honest reaction to a stranger’s struggles.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Despite the team’s struggles, Martino elected not to make any substitutions.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
For the Shiloh community, some said this struggle is about much more than compensation for an inconvenience.
—Maia Rosenfeld, ABC News, 11 Apr. 2024
Even pregnancy has become a life-threatening struggle.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Apr. 2024
Either way, the result is that large segments of the population in the besieged Strip struggle daily to sustain themselves.
—Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Beyond the immediate struggles of pioneer life, the Ingalls family held onto a vision of a brighter future – a vision that fueled their determination and guided their actions.
—Allen Buchanan, Orange County Register, 2 Apr. 2024
Verb
Companies were struggling to hire enough workers to keep up with customer orders.
—Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
The rest of the funding will go to communities in the interior of the country, which have also been struggling to accommodate and assist large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers arriving to their cities.
—Rafael Carranza, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2024
In Paramount’s upcoming A Quiet Place: Day One, Lupita Nyong’o plays a woman struggling to escape an alien invasion with her tuxedo cat Frodo.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024
The women may also be struggling to reintegrate into society.
—Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
The beloved comedian struggled with drug addiction and died in December 1997 from an overdose at the age of 33.
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2024
If that happened, fewer immigrants might want to come to the United States, and those who did might struggle to find work.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Both the United States and the United Nations, which established a trust fund for Haiti, have struggled to raise the money.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 12 Apr. 2024
As bighorn sheep ram tags become increasingly hard to draw — a result of more applicants, diminishing nonresident allocations, and struggling sheep populations — some hunters are changing their goals.
—Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
Popular on Variety Keyser said the long struggle of last year was the end result of a long period of getting the union to be more aggressive in contract negotiations.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024
He’s helped with conservation work, especially with rhinos and elephants, in addition to getting to know its people and their struggles.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
And in a key role as a pub regular, Trevor Fox makes palpable the injury and distrust that can warp an honest reaction to a stranger’s struggles.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Despite the team’s struggles, Martino elected not to make any substitutions.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
For the Shiloh community, some said this struggle is about much more than compensation for an inconvenience.
—Maia Rosenfeld, ABC News, 11 Apr. 2024
Even pregnancy has become a life-threatening struggle.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Apr. 2024
Either way, the result is that large segments of the population in the besieged Strip struggle daily to sustain themselves.
—Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Beyond the immediate struggles of pioneer life, the Ingalls family held onto a vision of a brighter future – a vision that fueled their determination and guided their actions.
—Allen Buchanan, Orange County Register, 2 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'struggle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near struggle
Cite this Entry
“Struggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/struggle. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
struggle
2 of 2 noun1
: fight entry 2 sense 1a, contest
a power struggle
2
: a violent or strenuous effort or exertion
a struggle to make ends meet
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