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

I’m hard-pressed to think of any movie I’d watch four times in a month if I didn’t genuinely admire it on some level.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

But critics say the push to refine should have come sooner, with Zimbabwe already having lost out on several years of revenues for the hard-pressed local economy.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Bull and bear markets come and go in long waves, but you would be hard-pressed to get that cautionary news from the average Wall Street stock salesman.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 18, 2026

“I’d be hard-pressed to think anybody would want an investment with so much upfront markup on it,” says Doug Kinsey, founding partner at Artifex Financial Group, an investment-advisory firm in Dayton, Ohio.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

"M'lord, with Alyn and the others away, we are hard-pressed already—" "It will only be a short while. Lengthen the watches."

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin