hard-fought
adjective
1
: requiring a lot of effort or hard work
He won a hard-fought campaign for reelection.
2
: achieved or acquired through a lot of effort or hard work
a hard-fought victory/triumph
Examples of hard-fought in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
After lengthy and hard-fought negotiations, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and members of the New York City Council reached a budget deal Tuesday just hours before the deadline.
—
Marcia Kramer,
CBS News,
30 June 2026
The deal represents a genuine achievement — hard-fought, historic in scope, and a testament to the organizing muscle the Guild has built over years of increasingly contentious labor battles.
—
George Heller,
HollywoodReporter,
6 May 2026
And besides that, with their hard-fought Final Four victories Friday over Texas and Connecticut, respectively, barometers for other programs that dream of ascending to such elite heights.
—
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
After weeks of hard-fought — at times nasty — campaigning, Boca Raton residents had their say on Tuesday, reflected in the relatively large numbers of voters appearing at the polls to shape the city’s future.
—
Anthony Man,
Sun Sentinel,
10 Mar. 2026
The contest was hard-fought throughout, with Memorial holding a 16-13 lead after one quarter of p thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Payton Jones.
—
Robert Thomas,
Dallas Morning News,
27 Feb. 2026
Two of the victories early in district play were extremely hard-fought.
—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Feb. 2026
Measles cases had reached a record low in 2004 but were starting to trend up again, just a few years after the US had achieved elimination following a long and hard-fought battle.
—
Deidre McPhillips,
CNN Money,
20 Jan. 2026
The game was hard-fought enough that Philadelphia still had a chance to take the lead late in the fourth quarter.
—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
12 Jan. 2026
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Marcia Kramer,
CBS News,
30 June 2026
The deal represents a genuine achievement — hard-fought, historic in scope, and a testament to the organizing muscle the Guild has built over years of increasingly contentious labor battles.
—
George Heller,
HollywoodReporter,
6 May 2026
And besides that, with their hard-fought Final Four victories Friday over Texas and Connecticut, respectively, barometers for other programs that dream of ascending to such elite heights.
—
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
After weeks of hard-fought — at times nasty — campaigning, Boca Raton residents had their say on Tuesday, reflected in the relatively large numbers of voters appearing at the polls to shape the city’s future.
—
Anthony Man,
Sun Sentinel,
10 Mar. 2026
The contest was hard-fought throughout, with Memorial holding a 16-13 lead after one quarter of p thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Payton Jones.
—
Robert Thomas,
Dallas Morning News,
27 Feb. 2026
Two of the victories early in district play were extremely hard-fought.
—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Feb. 2026
Measles cases had reached a record low in 2004 but were starting to trend up again, just a few years after the US had achieved elimination following a long and hard-fought battle.
—
Deidre McPhillips,
CNN Money,
20 Jan. 2026
The game was hard-fought enough that Philadelphia still had a chance to take the lead late in the fourth quarter.
—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hard-fought.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard-fought. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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