hard time
Americannoun
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a period of difficulties or hardship.
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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.
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Informal. give a hard time, to bother, annoy, or harass.
He gave me a hard time about the money I owe him.
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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]
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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 filed for Social Security at 62 because I was having a hard time paying my bills without it.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 29, 2026
“I have a hard time saying anybody has done a better or faster job of helping me than the Dodgers,” Lauer said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026
"If you're struggling, you are really going to have a hard time because the labour market is not adding piles of new jobs, things are getting more expensive, many cities have housing crises."
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
A big problem in planning is that people have a hard time thinking of their future selves, especially when feeling younger than they are, says Frederick.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
And then, answering herself: “No. We don’t. If you are using words like that with Bruno, the way you just did talking to me—well, then you’re giving him a hard time, aren’t you?”
From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins
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.
