in distress

idiom

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

Pine, Colorado — As massive granite outcroppings dotted with evergreen trees jutted skyward from the landscape of Colorado’s Southern Rockies on a warm Tuesday morning, the serenity of bird calls and a babbling creek was shattered by a radio call from a park ranger in distress. —Andi Babineau, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025

The tools, pushed out to all users Monday, let parents limit the ways teenagers use the chatbot and receive alerts if ChatGPT determines a teenager may be in distress. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2025

People in the Sunshine State who have threatening encounters with the animals or who see them in distress are asked to call 888-404-3922. —Simone Jasper, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2025

Missing healthcare directives can leave families in distress during medical emergencies. —Cody Barbo, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025

Rhymes for in distress

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