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
Even savvy healthcare consumers – aka patients – will have a hard time reining in healthcare spending in the face of physicians preaching an ethic of better safe than sorry.
—
Peter Ubel, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
If fewer younger voters hold partisan affiliation, the parties will eventually have a hard time fielding candidates.
—Jocelyn Shek, NBC news, 25 June 2025
And that’s a win for women everywhere who have a hard time maintaining a manicure.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 10 June 2025
Why are people having a hard time affording life in Florida?
Florida has long drawn out-of-staters.
—Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for have a hard time
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Peter Ubel, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
If fewer younger voters hold partisan affiliation, the parties will eventually have a hard time fielding candidates.
—Jocelyn Shek, NBC news, 25 June 2025
And that’s a win for women everywhere who have a hard time maintaining a manicure.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 10 June 2025
Why are people having a hard time affording life in Florida?
Florida has long drawn out-of-staters.
—Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 11 June 2025
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 10 Jul. 2025.
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