have a hard time
idiom
: to experience difficulty doing something
She's having a hard time living within her budget.
The school has had a hard time recruiting substitute teachers.
He's been having a hard time with his research paper.
Examples of have a hard time in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This was the season the NFL had a hard time getting a performer for the halftime show in the aftermath of the blacklisting of Colin Kaepernick.
—
Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Even the two great singers and pianist Lang Lang would have had a hard time matching the sheer star power of Charlize Theron quoting her fellow South African Nelson Mandela on the power of peace in the middle of the giant stadium.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Feb. 2026
Today, his brother Raúl Castro is 94, and Cuba’ s nominal president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, is an obscure bureaucrat who has a hard time keeping his audiences awake.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
We were told the Jets were going to have a hard time keeping him off the field.
—Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2026
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Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Even the two great singers and pianist Lang Lang would have had a hard time matching the sheer star power of Charlize Theron quoting her fellow South African Nelson Mandela on the power of peace in the middle of the giant stadium.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Feb. 2026
Today, his brother Raúl Castro is 94, and Cuba’ s nominal president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, is an obscure bureaucrat who has a hard time keeping his audiences awake.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
We were told the Jets were going to have a hard time keeping him off the field.
—Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for have a hard time
Cite this Entry
“Have a hard time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/have%20a%20hard%20time. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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