hard knocks

[ hahrd-noks ]
See synonyms for: hard%20knockshard%20knock on Thesaurus.com

plural noun
  1. adversity or hardships: Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to learn life's hard lessons without life's hard knocks?Growing up in the Depression, my grandfather had his share of hard knocks.

Words Nearby hard knocks

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hard knocks in a sentence

  • Parents sometimes have an attitude of, “I was brought up in the school of hard knocks, no one babied me.”

    How to Help Your Anxious Kid | Eliza Shapiro | May 11, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • People view it as a career of … some hard knocks,” he said in his retirement conference, “But I got to play.

    How to Play a Tennis Monster | Sujay Kumar | September 10, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Parole femmine, fatti maschi, and the logic of events isn't altogether words; it's full of hard knocks, too.

    A Traveler from Altruria: Romance | William Dean Howells
  • We may expect the minor moralities to suffer while the major moralities are being determined by hard knocks.

    Humanly Speaking | Samuel McChord Crothers
  • Molire, like most successful men, had a good many enemies, and was accustomed to give and receive very hard knocks.

    Queens of the French Stage | H. Noel Williams