struggle
Americanverb (used without object)
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struggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
struggled,
past participle, past
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struggling
present participle
-
to contend with an adversary or opposing force.
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to contend resolutely with a task, problem, etc.; strive.
to struggle for existence.
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to advance with violent effort.
to struggle through the snow.
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(of athletes and competitors) to be coping with inability to perform well or to win; contend with difficulty.
After struggling for the whole month of June, he suddenly caught fire and raised his batting average 30 points.
verb (used with object)
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struggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
struggled,
past participle, past
-
struggling
present participle
-
to bring, put, etc., by struggling.
She struggled the heavy box into a corner.
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to make (one's way) with violent effort.
verb
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(intr; usually foll by for or against; may take an infinitive) to exert strength, energy, and force; work or strive
to struggle to obtain freedom
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(intr) to move about strenuously so as to escape from something confining
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(intr) to contend, battle, or fight
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(intr) to go or progress with difficulty
noun
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a laboured or strenuous exertion or effort
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a fight or battle
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the act of struggling
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the radical and armed opposition to apartheid, especially by the military wings of the ANC and the PAC
Usage
What are other ways to say struggle?
A struggle is a war, fight, conflict, or contest of any kind. How does struggle compare to brush and clash? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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strugglesimple
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strugglessimple
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have struggledperfect
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has struggledperfect
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am strugglingprogressive
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are strugglingprogressive
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is strugglingprogressive
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have been strugglingperfect progressive
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has been strugglingperfect progressive
Past
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struggledsimple
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had struggledperfect
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was strugglingprogressive
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were strugglingprogressive
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had been strugglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of struggle
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English struglen, stroglen, frequentative verb ( see -le) formed on a base of obscure origin
Explanation
Something that can only be accomplished with great effort is said to be a struggle. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader in the Civil Rights struggle. Alice Paul was a leader in the struggle for a woman's right to vote. The verb form of struggle can be used for physical or mental effort. A police officer might struggle trying to detain a criminal or a student may struggle with a difficult algebra problem. If you scramble and climb awkwardly up something, you can also use the verb struggle to describe the action: "They struggled up the icy hill over and over again, so they could keep sledding."
Vocabulary lists containing struggle
Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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Beowulf vocabulary
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myPerspectives 7.1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After World War II, Federal Reserve officials wanted to stop helping the Treasury Department keep interest rates low, leading to a fierce struggle with the Truman White House.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
The search for fuel is now a constant struggle.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The U.S. has reached a new borrowing milestone in its struggle to get hold of its finances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Mitchell, who ended up becoming friends with Spooner after participating in the documentary, said he is “very happy” that Spooner “came out vindicated” in the legal struggle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
His eyes were two small, dark slits that glittered with amusement as he watched me struggle.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Pakistan have long been known for their turmoil off the field and their current struggles were perhaps best summed up in the post-match news conference.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Show team members were told at the time their jobs were cut because of the company’s financial struggles, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
The debt struggles of Evergrande and industry peers including Country Garden, Vanke and Kaisa have had a severe impact on consumer confidence, dissuading many would-be homebuyers from making purchases.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Marco Antonelli did not originally want his son to become a racing driver, because of his own struggles during his career.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
She looks down at the scar on Marco’s hand as he struggles to catch his breath.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
In one interview in 2024, he struggled, external to name a favourite novel and when he appeared on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs he picked an atlas as the book he would take with him.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Yet researchers have struggled for years to determine exactly how the material responds under such extreme conditions because laboratory measurements and computer simulations have produced conflicting results.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
Bass said Raman struggled to work collaboratively with her colleagues, treating city business as a series of academic exercises.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
But, the five firms struggled to form a cohesive strategy at EverBank, leading to tension between the owners and inside the boardroom, the people familiar with the matter said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Elisha struggled through the remaining dates of a lecture tour, bedridden between appearances.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
In “Wonder Man,” Abdul-Mateen portrayed Simon Williams, a struggling actor with superpowers that he had to keep secret so he could work in Hollywood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
An 82-year-old retired doctor who recently lost his wife of nearly 60 years was struggling with whether to continue traveling, a passion of theirs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Still, the country is still struggling to meet demand thanks to its aging power grid.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
He said it was not unusual to see "people's coffee flying around on tables and people struggling to type on laptops", and he had raised concerns with Southern on more than one occasion.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Because that means I’m not the only one who’s been struggling.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
