hard time
Americannoun
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hard times
plural
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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.
Yet many workers aren’t so sure; they’re having a hard time stomaching the uncertainty.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Elderly people may have a hard time navigating the online platforms, and many are scared that they’ll end up stuck with the bill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Etta remembers feeling "nervous", "anxious" and "uncomfortable", but says she had a hard time putting up boundaries at that age and saying no.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
With cheap options broadly available, large companies might have a hard time explaining to a judge why they forced their employees to choose funds that cost 10 times more.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
With everyone talking at once, the cops are having a hard time getting them to answer questions.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
