in dire straits
idiom
: in a very bad or difficult situation
With its best player out of the game, the team found itself in dire straits.
Examples of in dire straits in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Because as the prices go up, and the money stays the same or goes down, every town will be in dire straits to fund education.
—
Alison Cross, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2024
The British economy is in dire straits, and voters expect Labour to fix it.
—Matthias Matthijs, Foreign Affairs, 30 Apr. 2024
The Panama Canal, which connects Atlantic and Pacific trading routes, has been in dire straits for some time.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 11 Apr. 2024
The United Nations reports mass graves and gang rapes, 18 million people at risk of starvation, and almost 10 million displaced within the country in addition to the 1.8 million who have fled to neighboring states such as Chad and South Sudan, which are themselves in dire straits.
—Andreas Kluth, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for in dire straits 
Alison Cross, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2024
The British economy is in dire straits, and voters expect Labour to fix it.
—Matthias Matthijs, Foreign Affairs, 30 Apr. 2024
The Panama Canal, which connects Atlantic and Pacific trading routes, has been in dire straits for some time.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 11 Apr. 2024
The United Nations reports mass graves and gang rapes, 18 million people at risk of starvation, and almost 10 million displaced within the country in addition to the 1.8 million who have fled to neighboring states such as Chad and South Sudan, which are themselves in dire straits.
—Andreas Kluth, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for in dire straits
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'in dire straits.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“In dire straits.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%20dire%20straits. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
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