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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Recent Examples of hard up
Starring Jocelin Donahue as a college student hard up for cash who takes on a suspicious babysitting gig, The House of the Devil is a Ti West masterpiece.
—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
How to Do It Right Negotiate hard up front.
—
Lien De Pau,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
This letter descended to Charles Austen and thence to his granddaughters, who, hard up, sold it in the 1920s, part of a larger cache of relics and manuscripts.
—
Literary Hub,
4 Aug. 2025
After decades of bringing us the incredible shrinking transistor, chipmakers are now hard up against the limits of their printing technique: Trying to use today’s ultraviolet lasers to print the next generation of circuits would be like trying to trace a fine line with a preschooler’s crayon.
—
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Dec. 2011
See All Example Sentences for hard up
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
How to Do It Right Negotiate hard up front.
—
Lien De Pau,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
This letter descended to Charles Austen and thence to his granddaughters, who, hard up, sold it in the 1920s, part of a larger cache of relics and manuscripts.
—
Literary Hub,
4 Aug. 2025
After decades of bringing us the incredible shrinking transistor, chipmakers are now hard up against the limits of their printing technique: Trying to use today’s ultraviolet lasers to print the next generation of circuits would be like trying to trace a fine line with a preschooler’s crayon.
—
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Dec. 2011
See All Example Sentences for hard up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard up
Adjective
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Rebecca Lowe joins Dan Patrick to discuss some of the top storylines around the World Cup, including Cristiano Ronaldo's poor play to start, the United States' potential and more.
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Will the gap between rural and urban America – and the gap between rich and poor America – decline or grow?
Adjective
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South Africa has a history of xenophobic violence as migrants from poor nations like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi generally end up settling in impoverished communities in South Africa where unemployment and frustrations are high.
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Dreesen moved to Los Angeles, living on $1 a day and hitchhiking to The Comedy Store, begging for a set and bonding with other impoverished comedians.
Adjective
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Three years into his term, America wasn't broke, but the stock market did experience some of its biggest single-day losses during the coronavirus pandemic.
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This week, Knicks fans had a big win after a big loss; fans of inflation were delighted and World Cup fans went broke.
Cite this Entry
“Hard up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard%20up. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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