hard time
Americannoun
-
hard times
plural
-
a period of difficulties or hardship.
-
Slang. time actually served in a prison or other penal institution.
He had merely been fined before, but now was sentenced to 90 days' hard time in the county jail.
-
Informal. give a hard time, to bother, annoy, or harass.
He gave me a hard time about the money I owe him.
-
Also, hard times . A period of difficulty or hardship, especially financial hardship. For example, Since Mom died, Christmas has been a hard time for Dad , or It's been hard times for both of them since they split up . It is also put as have a hard time , as in I'm having a hard time finishing this book . Charles Dickens used Hard Times as the title of a novel about poverty (1854). A more recent version is have a time of it , which despite its ambiguity (not specifying either “good” or “bad”) nearly always means “experiencing difficulty”; for example, We had quite a time of it in that hurricane . [Late 1300s]
-
give someone a hard time . Annoy or harass someone. For example, Don't let him give you a hard time; he's often late himself . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s]
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hard time
First recorded in 1905–10
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.
“I have a hard time believing that Chairman Warsh will have that much patience for above-target inflation,” said Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at Santander Capital Markets.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
Why is anyone having a hard time getting this?
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
Often companies have a hard time distinguishing which is which.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
"She started to lose a lot of weight, and she became very depressed, and she was having a really hard time," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
“You have to understand, Grandma is a very proud woman. A very smart woman. She had a really hard time working at Ford when she graduated.”
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
