as in poor
lacking money or material possessions
despite being undeniably hard up, they had too much pride to accept charity
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hard up
Obviously someone who loses their job and is really hard up for cash will give serious thought to canceling or pausing subscriptions.
—
Josef Adalian, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025
Over the last two seasons, he’s figured out how to throw the ball hard up to left-handed hitters for weak contact and to their back foot for swing-and-miss.
—Tim Britton, The Athletic, 13 Aug. 2024
However, the typical Planet Organic shopper isn’t likely to be that hard up.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 22 July 2024
They’ve been hit particularly hard up front on offense and need youth.
—Brad Biggs, Hartford Courant, 25 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hard up
Josef Adalian, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025
Over the last two seasons, he’s figured out how to throw the ball hard up to left-handed hitters for weak contact and to their back foot for swing-and-miss.
—Tim Britton, The Athletic, 13 Aug. 2024
However, the typical Planet Organic shopper isn’t likely to be that hard up.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 22 July 2024
They’ve been hit particularly hard up front on offense and need youth.
—Brad Biggs, Hartford Courant, 25 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hard up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard up
Adjective
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There are 577 bridges in Milwaukee, and only 5% are considered to be in poor condition, according to a new Wisconsin Policy Forum report.—
Anna Kleiber,
jsonline.com,
25 Sep. 2025
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Last week, as financial panic escalated following Milei’s party’s poor showing in local elections, Argentina’s central bank spent more than $1 billion of its foreign currency reserves to keep the peso from collapsing.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Another example of a property-rich district is Anchorage, where far fewer students come from impoverished households, are learning to speak English as a second language or have other special education needs.—
Krista Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
25 Sep. 2025
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Eric Wright of the Klestsel Dehe Wintun Nation headquartered in Williams in the Sacramento Valley said some small tribes like his hope to team up with virtual gaming companies to try to generate revenue for their impoverished isolated communities using the sweepstakes games.—
CalMatters,
Oc Register,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In another magical Miami tale, a broke witch who works in a spellshop and an adjunct professor who’s secretly a popular himbo mage team up to win a spellcasting reality show competition — except someone is sabotaging the contestants’ work.—
Lia Amador,
PEOPLE,
20 Sep. 2025
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The longtime actor and multi-faceted filmmaker crafts an unhinged, go-for-broke performance as a legendary quarterback putting his potential heir apparent (Tyriq Withers) through a psychologically torturous training camp.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard%20up. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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