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• hard-on
  hard-on

  noun

  an erection of the penis.
• hard on
  hard on

  Also, hard upon, hard by . In close proximity, as in The police were hard on the heels of the thieves , or It was hard upon three o'clock , or Their house is hard by ours . The variants are used less than hard on . [Second half of 1700s]

hard-on

American  

[hahrd-on, -awn] / ˈhɑrdˌɒn, -ˌɔn /

noun

Slang: Vulgar.

• hard-ons
  plural

1. an erection of the penis.

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hard on Idioms  

1. Also, hard upon, hard by . In close proximity, as in The police were hard on the heels of the thieves , or It was hard upon three o'clock , or Their house is hard by ours . The variants are used less than hard on . [Second half of 1700s]

2. be hard on . Deal severely with, cause damage to. For example, He asked the teacher not to be too hard on those who forgot the assignment , or That cat has really been hard on the upholstery . [Second half of 1600s] Also see hard time , def. 2.

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Usage

What does hard-on mean? A hard-on is slang for an erection of the penis. It has been extended as a metaphor for being excited about something in general. The vulgar slang hard-on is not to be confused with the expression to be hard (on someone) is to be mean and critical, or to he expression to go hard (on something), meaning "to go all out."What are some other forms of hard-on?hard on

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hard-ons
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of hard-on

First recorded in 1890–95

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hard on

I go super hard on the weekends and exercise every day when I’m on vacation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Shares of Micron Technology, Nvidia and other artificial-intelligence-related chip makers fell hard on Thursday, as investors digested a bearish report on one of the AI industry’s most important players.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Coming down hard on Pages was a change of tune for Roberts, who early in the season encouraged Dodgers hitters to be more aggressive making challenges.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

While Warren and the bill’s co-sponsors shouldn’t lean too hard on an extemporaneous riff from a podcaster, the germ of a promising strategy is there.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

I went up the path then before I could change my mind, rapped hard on the door, and stepped back.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

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