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
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
But figuring out how to finance college so that neither parent nor child are left financially hard up?
—Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 18 May 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for hard up
Literary Hub, 4 Aug. 2025
But figuring out how to finance college so that neither parent nor child are left financially hard up?
—Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 18 May 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for hard up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard up
Adjective
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Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Jan. 2026
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In recent games, KU’s communication has been pretty poor on defense and that’s led to players taking (and too often missing) wide-open 3-pointers.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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All the struggling, impoverished Californians who wish their lives were better?—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
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The flood of people overwhelmed Bajo Chiquito, an impoverished community of 382 members of the Indigenous Emberá-Wounaan people.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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All of that stuff is very much in play in what’s recognizably on-brand Steppenwolf acting, typified by go-for-broke intensity, naked in more ways than one, from Coon and Smallwood, especially.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
9 Jan. 2026
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Dennis Hamlin took out multiple mortgages, maxed out several credit cards and nearly went broke, the Associated Press reported, all in pursuit of the dream to get his son into NASCAR.—
Briah Lumpkins,
Charlotte Observer,
31 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard%20up. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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