hardscrabble
adjective
hard·scrab·ble
ˈhärd-ˌskra-bəl 
1
a
: being or relating to a place of barren or barely arable soil
a hardscrabble farm
hardscrabble prairies
b
: getting a meager living from poor soil
a hardscrabble farmer
2
: marked by poverty
a hardscrabble cotton town
a hardscrabble childhood
Synonyms
Examples of hardscrabble in a Sentence
He lived a hardscrabble life.
it was hard to eke out even a bare existence on the hardscrabble lands
Recent Examples on the Web
By 2013, those hardscrabble beginnings seemed a distant memory.
—
Kitty Bennett, New York Times, 13 May 2024
Haresh learned the trade quickly and at 15 decided to strike out on his own, descending into the hardscrabble diamond market on Dhanji Street in Mumbai in 1966.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for hardscrabble 
Kitty Bennett, New York Times, 13 May 2024
Haresh learned the trade quickly and at 15 decided to strike out on his own, descending into the hardscrabble diamond market on Dhanji Street in Mumbai in 1966.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for hardscrabble
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hardscrabble.' 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 hardscrabble
Cite this Entry
“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hardscrabble. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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