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
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
This, at least, is true in the sense that the Cotswolds, which have become a playground for London’s élite, is not typically associated with hardscrabble imagery.
—
Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025
Strawberry, an outfielder who grew up playing on the hardscrabble streets of South Central Los Angeles, was part of the hard-partying, hard-charging 1986 Mets team that brought the second-ever World Series championship to Queens.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2025
Most bulldog gravy makers use milk, but there are hardscrabble versions made with water.
—Sheri Castle, Southern Living, 6 Aug. 2025
The frontline feels like a giant game of Pac-Man as Russians try to gobble up remote agrarian villages where hardscrabble families eke out a desperate living.
—Susan Mathison, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
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Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025
Strawberry, an outfielder who grew up playing on the hardscrabble streets of South Central Los Angeles, was part of the hard-partying, hard-charging 1986 Mets team that brought the second-ever World Series championship to Queens.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2025
Most bulldog gravy makers use milk, but there are hardscrabble versions made with water.
—Sheri Castle, Southern Living, 6 Aug. 2025
The frontline feels like a giant game of Pac-Man as Russians try to gobble up remote agrarian villages where hardscrabble families eke out a desperate living.
—Susan Mathison, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Cite this Entry
“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hardscrabble. Accessed 29 Aug. 2025.
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