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• hard-pressed
  hard-pressed

  adjective

  heavily burdened or oppressed, as by overwork or financial difficulties; harried; put-upon.
• hard pressed
  hard pressed

  Overburdened, put upon, as in With all these bills to pay we find ourselves hard pressed. [c. 1800]

hard-pressed

American  

[hahrd-prest] / ˈhɑrdˈprɛst /

Or hardpressed

adjective

1. heavily burdened or oppressed, as by overwork or financial difficulties; harried; put-upon.

   Synonyms:

   beleaguered

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hard-pressed British  

adjective

1. in difficulties

   the swimmer was hard-pressed

2. subject to severe competition

3. subject to severe attack

4. closely pursued

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hard pressed Idioms  

1. Overburdened, put upon, as in With all these bills to pay we find ourselves hard pressed. [c. 1800]

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Etymology

Origin of hard-pressed

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

She may be hard pressed to avoid one.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

The proliferation of scientific journals has created an almost insatiable need, and professors on the treadmill of grants, research and publishing are hard pressed to fit in such volunteering.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

Throw in the affordability crisis — from food to energy bills — and you have an economic outlook that Nostradamus would be hard pressed to predict.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 15, 2025

When Ronan Keating answered a newspaper advert to audition for Boyzone in 1993, he would have been hard pressed to believe more than 30 years later he would still be hitting the stage.

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2025

As I shook it, something hard pressed into my palm.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss