struggle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
struggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
struggled,
past participle, past
-
struggling
present participle
-
to contend with an adversary or opposing force.
-
to contend resolutely with a task, problem, etc.; strive.
to struggle for existence.
-
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
-
had struggledperfect
-
was strugglingprogressive
-
were strugglingprogressive
-
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
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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:
Julia Hatmaker, the editor of the Place North West property news website, said viability was "always a struggle" in the development world.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The euro might struggle to sustain current gains against the dollar as French fiscal risks persist, Monex Europe said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Most conventional plastics break down extremely slowly because microorganisms struggle to digest the synthetic polymers from which they are made.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
The protests have drawn fresh attention to longstanding inequalities in France's education system, where schools serving the poorest communities often struggle for resources despite substantial public spending.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The game was a struggle, however, and he found himself in time trouble.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
When enough bad news is already baked into an asset’s price, investor positioning can become so negative that even another ugly headline struggles to push it lower.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Varsha says she struggles to believe a country like Australia can outmuscle big tech: so she's not sure the Digital Duty of Care bill will work.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The job cuts affect 6% of its staff and come as the company struggles with slowing growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The rural county near the Mexico border struggles with bad air pollution and has one the state’s highest rates of asthma hospitalization for kids, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Camel struggles to his feet, so stiff that at one point I reach out and steady his elbow.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Some current and former employees now say the firm relied too much on wealthy individuals for growth and has struggled to respond to the private-credit backlash effectively.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Papa John’s has struggled to rebound from its own multiyear sales dip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Irvan Maulana has struggled with shortness of breath and a cough as wildfire smoke cloaks the Indonesian city of Palangkaraya.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
She remembered a time when Arab and Muslim New Yorkers struggled to find elected officials willing to acknowledge their experiences at all.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
And so I struggled on with worship and teaching that had ceased to be real.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Vanetsky said her grandson was struggling at home in the wake of the trauma he'd been through.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
What would have been a grueling process for most was an escape for Dieffenbach, who was struggling through the most adverse time in his life: his mother’s bout with breast cancer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
However, the big question is: how will Australia implement this policy when, so far, it has been struggling to implement the ban?
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
France and Germany struck a deal aimed at safeguarding Europe’s struggling auto sector, including becoming more flexible with decarbonization rules and providing incentives for investment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The trees, too, spoke a language Clare did not recognize, struggling against the wind, unlike the ancient, creaking trees of his beloved Deadwood.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
