hard-knock
adjective
: marked by difficult or painful experiences or circumstances
For all of his gifts, Cabrera's greatest strength may be a toughness that came from his hard-knock life.—
Alan Shipnuck
Alan ShipnuckExamples of hard-knock in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Actions that seemed foolhardy when Rue was younger now come off as merely chancy, with Zendaya imparting enough hard-knock experience to pull off bigger swings.
—Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Apr. 2026
All but unrecognizable behind his scruffy beard, Poulter blends right in with these hard-knock folks, whose homemade tattoos and missing teeth are the real deal.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 25 Jan. 2026
Dahlia is used to a hard-knock life that began in her childhood with a mother addicted to drugs.
—Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2026
What English Teacher is nostalgic for, instead, is an ’80s-era hard-knock-life, stop-being-so-sensitive approach to the world.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025
The book by Kristoffer Diaz is loosely inspired by Keys own hard-knock growing-up years in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Feb. 2025
Joy Behar had a hard-knock time watching Whoopi Goldberg’s debut performance of Annie on Wednesday thanks to their fellow View cohost, Sunny Hostin.
—EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
After depicting the arrival of space-faring nomads on a distant planet in January, her spring 2025 collection will be looking at the hard-knock life of the exploring settler in an unknown environment.
—Lily Templeton, WWD, 19 June 2024
This story of an orphan's hard-knock life is an optional add-on to a six- or seven-show Broadway series subscription.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2024
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Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Apr. 2026
All but unrecognizable behind his scruffy beard, Poulter blends right in with these hard-knock folks, whose homemade tattoos and missing teeth are the real deal.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 25 Jan. 2026
Dahlia is used to a hard-knock life that began in her childhood with a mother addicted to drugs.
—Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2026
What English Teacher is nostalgic for, instead, is an ’80s-era hard-knock-life, stop-being-so-sensitive approach to the world.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025
The book by Kristoffer Diaz is loosely inspired by Keys own hard-knock growing-up years in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Feb. 2025
Joy Behar had a hard-knock time watching Whoopi Goldberg’s debut performance of Annie on Wednesday thanks to their fellow View cohost, Sunny Hostin.
—EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
After depicting the arrival of space-faring nomads on a distant planet in January, her spring 2025 collection will be looking at the hard-knock life of the exploring settler in an unknown environment.
—Lily Templeton, WWD, 19 June 2024
This story of an orphan's hard-knock life is an optional add-on to a six- or seven-show Broadway series subscription.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Hard-knock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard-knock. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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