struggle

1 a forceful effort to reach a goal or objective a physically challenged child's determined struggle to make straight A's in school Synonyms battle, fight, fray, scrabble, throes Related Words effort, exertion, labor, pains, trouble, work; drudgery, grind, sweat, toil, travail; combat, conflict, contest, strife, tussle, war, warfare; attempt, endeavor, essay, try

2 a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups there was a struggle between the armed robber and the shopkeeper, and the gun went off Synonyms battle, clash, combat, conflict, contest, dustup, fracas, fray, hassle, scrap, scrimmage, scrum, scuffle, skirmish, fight, tussleRelated Words pitched battle, rough-and-tumble; affray [chiefly British], battle royal, brawl, broil, donnybrook, free-for-all, melee (also mêlée), mix-up, ruckus, ruction; blows, fistfight, fisticuffs, grapple, handgrips, punch-out, punch-up [chiefly British], slugfest; confrontation, duel, face-off, joust; altercation, argle-bargle [chiefly British], argument, argy-bargy [chiefly British], contretemps, controversy, cross fire, disagreement, dispute, falling-out, kickup, misunderstanding, quarrel, row, spat, squabble, tangle, tiff, wrangle; catfightNear Antonyms truce

3 an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another her staunchest supporters in her struggle for the office Synonyms ball game, battle, combat, competition, conflict, confrontation, contention, dogfight, duel, face-off, grapple, match, rivalry, strife, contest, sweepstakes (also sweep-stake), tug-of-war, war, warfareRelated Words horse race, nail-biter; showdown; clash, collision, discord, friction; argument, controversy, debate, disagreement, disputation, dispute, dissension (also dissention), quarrel, row, wrangleNear Antonyms concord, harmony, peace