in distress

phrase

1

: very upset

He was clearly in distress upon hearing the news.

2

: in a very difficult situation in which one does not have enough money, food, etc.

She's chosen to devote her life to helping those in distress.

3

of a boat, airplane, etc. : in a state of danger or desperate need

The ship was in distress.

Examples of in distress in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Bostick died later that year, however, and the trust's volunteers realized the tree was in distress. — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 17 Aug. 2026

EnCon police with the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to a report of swimmers in distress in Candlewood Lake, according to Will Healey, spokesperson with DEEP. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 15 Aug. 2026

Arabella McCormack died in August 2022 after San Diego County sheriff’s deputies responded to a call in the middle of the night for a child in distress at a home in Spring Valley, an unincorporated community in the eastern part of the county. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026

With city blocks burned to the ground, a shrinkage of affordable housing, and a spike in homelessness, the New York of the late seventies was a city in distress. — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for in distress

• abs
• acquiesce
• authoress
• bodiless
• coalesce
• decompress
• dispossess
• faithfulness
• letterpress
• mayoress
• murderess
• nonetheless