trouble

1 of 2

noun

trou·​ble ˈtrə-bəl 

plural troubles

1

: the quality or state of being troubled especially mentally

2

: public unrest or disturbance

there's trouble brewing downtown

3

: an instance of trouble

used to disguise her frustrations and despair by making light of her troubles

—Current Biography

4

: a state or condition of distress, annoyance, or difficulty

in trouble with the law

heading for trouble

got into financial trouble

: such as

a

: a condition of physical distress or ill health : ailment

back trouble

heart trouble

b

: a condition of mechanical malfunction

engine trouble

c

: a condition of doing something badly or only with great difficulty

has trouble reading

has trouble breathing

d

dated, informal : the state of being pregnant while unmarried

got a girl in trouble

5

: an effort made : pains

took the trouble to do it right

6

a

: a cause of distress, annoyance, or inconvenience

don't mean to be any trouble

what's the trouble?

b

: a negative feature : drawback

the trouble with you is you're too honest

the main trouble with electronic systems is the overreliance on them

—John Perham

c

: the unhappy or sad fact

the trouble is, I need the money

trouble

2 of 2

verb

troubled; troubling ˈtrə-b(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

a

: to agitate mentally or spiritually : worry, disturb

b

: to put to exertion or inconvenience

I'm sorry to trouble you

c(1)

: to produce physical disorder in : afflict

troubled by a cold

(2)

archaic : mistreat, oppress

2

: to put into confused motion

the wind troubled the sea

intransitive verb

1

: to become mentally agitated : worry

refused to trouble over trifles

2

: to make an effort : be at pains

did not trouble to come

troubler

ˈtrə-b(ə-)lər 

noun

Synonyms

Noun

• affection
• ail
• ailment
• bug
• complaint
• complication
• condition
• disease
• disorder
• distemper
• distemperature
• fever
• ill
• illness
• infirmity
• malady
• sickness

Verb

• bother
• fear
• fret
• fuss
• stew
• stress
• sweat
• worry

Examples of trouble in a Sentence

Noun

The new system is giving me trouble.

He was having trouble with his homework.

I had a little trouble finding the place.

He had no trouble finding a new job.

gangs looking to make trouble

When the new CEO arrived, the company was in trouble.

She got into trouble with her credit cards.

He's always getting in trouble at school.

She has been having trouble with her knee.

Verb

The accusations troubled him deeply.

I'm troubled by his strange behavior.

I don't mean to trouble you, but I have a question.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Ousted from Congress, Santos tried for a comeback In December 2023, with his scandals and legal troubles deepening and political allies abandoning him, Santos was expelled from Congress in a 311-114 vote. —Brian Mann, NPR, 24 Apr. 2024

Parrish, who had nothing to do with Avenatti’s law firm or legal troubles, was actually on the runway preparing to take off from Santa Barbara airport when the Feds moved in and confiscated the aircraft. —Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 24 Apr. 2024

Savannah Chrisley is getting real about the toll her parents Todd and Julie Chrisley’s legal trouble have had on brother Grayson Chrisley. —Liza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024

The Illiberal Tide If the current liberal international order is in trouble, what kind of illiberal order might emerge in its wake? —Daniel Nexon, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024

Curve, which Stevens had sold to an Australian publisher, is in financial trouble. —Lindsay Lee Wallace, TIME, 23 Apr. 2024

How much blame does Musk deserve for Tesla’s troubles? —Ethan Baron, The Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2024

Conservative Brazilians heaped praise Sunday on Elon Musk at a rally in support of former President Jair Bolsonaro, whose legal troubles are mounting in tandem with the billionaire entrepreneur’s feud with the South American nation’s Supreme Court. —Fox News, 21 Apr. 2024

Despite many technology industry troubles and a lengthy Hollywood strike, information was 2023’s biggest contributor to state business growth. —Jonathan Lansner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024

Verb

But the rollout of the Dreamliner has been troubled from the start. —Joel Rose, NPR, 9 Apr. 2024

Her childhood was troubled, Ms. Jones said, with her first four years spent in an orphanage. —Clyde Haberman, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2024

The missed opportunity has troubled him for 20 years. —Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024

Elsewhere, Callahan’s synesthetic language troubles the distinctions between senses. —Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024

For Phillips, this means letting people speak freely about things that are troubling them. —Saira Mueller, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024

Monica's defense attorneys have challenged this testimony as flimsy and misinterpreted, insisting the prosecutor has not established that divorce troubled Monica. —Greg Fisher, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024

As a physician focused on obesity and metabolic disorders, I was troubled by Oprah’s support for these drugs. —Lisa Shah, STAT, 28 Mar. 2024

But this isn’t the only problem that’s troubled the probe. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French trubler, from Vulgar Latin *turbulare, from *turbulus agitated, alteration of Latin turbulentus — more at turbulent

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing trouble

• ask for trouble
• borrow trouble
• foul trouble
• get (someone) out of trouble
• go to trouble
• have trouble sleeping
• keep/stay out of trouble
• look for trouble
• nothing but trouble
• no trouble
• save someone the trouble/bother
• smell trouble
• spell trouble
• take the trouble
• trouble free
• trouble oneself
• trouble spot

Kids Definition

trouble

1 of 2 verb

trou·​ble ˈtrəb-əl 

troubled; troubling ˈtrəb-(ə-)liŋ 

1

a

: to disturb or become disturbed mentally or spiritually : worry

her continued absence troubled him

b

: to produce physical disorder in : afflict

troubled with weak knees

c

: to put to exertion or inconvenience

may I trouble you for the salt

2

: to put into confused motion

wind troubled the sea

3

: to make an effort

do not trouble to come

trouble

2 of 2 noun

1

a

: the quality or state of being troubled : misfortune

help people in trouble

b

: an instance of distress or annoyance

made light of their troubles

2

: disorder or public unrest

labor trouble

3

: a state or condition of distress, annoyance, or difficulty

in big financial trouble

: as

a

: physical distress or ill health : ailment

heart trouble

b

: failure to work properly

engine trouble

c

: a condition of doing something badly or with great difficulty

had trouble reading

4

: an effort made : pains

took the trouble to write

5

a

: a cause of distress, annoyance, or inconvenience

don't mean to be any trouble

b

: a negative feature or characteristic

laziness is your biggest trouble

c

: an unpleasant fact

the trouble is, I'm broke