trouble

1 of 2

noun

trou·​ble ˈtrə-bəl How to pronounce trouble (audio)
plural troubles
1
: the quality or state of being troubled especially mentally
2
: public unrest or disturbance
there's trouble brewing downtown
3
: an instance of trouble
used to disguise her frustrations and despair by making light of her troublesCurrent Biography
4
: a state or condition of distress, annoyance, or difficulty
in trouble with the law
heading for trouble
got into financial trouble
: such as
a
: a condition of physical distress or ill health : ailment
back trouble
heart trouble
b
: a condition of mechanical malfunction
engine trouble
c
: a condition of doing something badly or only with great difficulty
has trouble reading
has trouble breathing
d
dated, informal : the state of being pregnant while unmarried
got a girl in trouble
5
: an effort made : pains
took the trouble to do it right
6
a
: a cause of distress, annoyance, or inconvenience
don't mean to be any trouble
what's the trouble?
b
: a negative feature : drawback
the trouble with you is you're too honest
the main trouble with electronic systems is the overreliance on themJohn Perham
c
: the unhappy or sad fact
the trouble is, I need the money

trouble

2 of 2

verb

troubled; troubling ˈtrə-b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce trouble (audio)

transitive verb

1
a
: to agitate mentally or spiritually : worry, disturb
b
: to put to exertion or inconvenience
I'm sorry to trouble you
c(1)
: to produce physical disorder in : afflict
troubled by a cold
(2)
archaic : mistreat, oppress
2
: to put into confused motion
the wind troubled the sea

intransitive verb

1
: to become mentally agitated : worry
refused to trouble over trifles
2
: to make an effort : be at pains
did not trouble to come
troubler noun

Examples of trouble in a Sentence

Noun The new system is giving me trouble. He was having trouble with his homework. I had a little trouble finding the place. He had no trouble finding a new job. gangs looking to make trouble When the new CEO arrived, the company was in trouble. She got into trouble with her credit cards. He's always getting in trouble at school. She has been having trouble with her knee. Verb The accusations troubled him deeply. I'm troubled by his strange behavior. I don't mean to trouble you, but I have a question.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The deeper trouble with the PA is not merely a matter of execution or personnel. Raja Khalidi, Foreign Affairs, 19 Mar. 2024 Crypto exchange and Genesis creditor Gemini didn’t like the way Genesis dealt with the financial troubles. Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024 The trouble isn’t only that of inflated prestige; bio-pics are disproportionately prominent during awards season and therefore ballyhooed nearly to oblivion. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024 House does sometimes have trouble connecting her sitters to parents. Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2024 Whether someone has had trouble maintaining a healthy weight or not, there has been no avoiding the recent discussions around medications like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy. Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024 Phillips ran into trouble after leaving the Department of Youth Services. Laura A. Bischoff, The Enquirer, 18 Mar. 2024 Deputy Tyler Kohl arrived at the scene at 10:01 p.m., expecting to help somebody with car trouble. USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024 The trouble is the company hasn’t shown anything on AI at a time when iPhones sales are sluggish and the company is facing mounting regulatory threats. Jeran Wittenstein, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024
Verb
Medeiros, who was a child when his family emigrated to the U.S. from the Azores, said these days he’s troubled by liberal attitudes around homelessness. Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 Assemblymember Alex Lee, who authored California’s legislation, said he was troubled by the fact that his state’s traffic fatalities were even higher than the national average, with around 1,100 pedestrians killed in both 2021 and 2022. Jeff McMurray, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2024 Targeting for-profit colleges and lenders, Chopra said he was troubled by an increasingly corporate higher-education system that was turning millions of students into debtors. Noam Levey, NPR, 1 Mar. 2024 As the mother of a high school student and a toddler, Ms. Richardson says she was troubled by the circumstances surrounding Nex’s death. Jackie Valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Feb. 2024 He was also troubled by rising Holocaust ignorance and denialism in America and, in the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, hate abroad. Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024 The delay is a blow to Senegal’s reputation as a democracy stalwart in a region beset by military coups and raises the specter of civil strife in this West African nation, which has been troubled by protests in recent years after one of Sall’s chief rivals was jailed. Rachel Chason, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2024 That should trouble you Gov. Katie Hobbs may have painted herself into a University of Arizona corner In Arizona, and across the nation, Republicans pushed state-level bills intended to make voting harder. Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024 The intense opposition has greatly troubled workers’ advocates, many of whom have called on Biden to take more aggressive action to ensure companies do not mischaracterize workers as independent contractors simply to save money — denying them better pay and other rights in the process. Tony Romm, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'trouble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French trubler, from Vulgar Latin *turbulare, from *turbulus agitated, alteration of Latin turbulentus — more at turbulent

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of trouble was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near trouble

Cite this Entry

“Trouble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trouble. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

trouble

1 of 2 verb
trou·​ble ˈtrəb-əl How to pronounce trouble (audio)
troubled; troubling ˈtrəb-(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce trouble (audio)
1
a
: to disturb or become disturbed mentally or spiritually : worry
her continued absence troubled him
b
: to produce physical disorder in : afflict
troubled with weak knees
c
: to put to exertion or inconvenience
may I trouble you for the salt
2
: to put into confused motion
wind troubled the sea
3
: to make an effort
do not trouble to come

trouble

2 of 2 noun
1
a
: the quality or state of being troubled : misfortune
help people in trouble
b
: an instance of distress or annoyance
made light of their troubles
2
: disorder or public unrest
labor trouble
3
: a state or condition of distress, annoyance, or difficulty
in big financial trouble
: as
a
: physical distress or ill health : ailment
heart trouble
b
: failure to work properly
engine trouble
c
: a condition of doing something badly or with great difficulty
had trouble reading
4
: an effort made : pains
took the trouble to write
5
a
: a cause of distress, annoyance, or inconvenience
don't mean to be any trouble
b
: a negative feature or characteristic
laziness is your biggest trouble
c
: an unpleasant fact
the trouble is, I'm broke

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