hardscrabble
Americanadjective
noun
-
(modifier) (of a place) difficult to make a living in; barren
-
great effort made in the face of difficulties
Etymology
Origin of hardscrabble
Explanation
Something described as hardscrabble is difficult and challenging. Many people overcome a hardscrabble childhood and go on to achieve their dreams. During an economic depression, many people's lives become hardscrabble, as they fight to find work, or are unable to pay their bills without working two or three jobs. This sense of struggling just to metaphorically keep your head above water captures the meaning of hardscrabble. It's an early 19th-century coinage, first written in Lewis and Clark's journals, and referring to an imaginary place "where a livelihood may be obtained only under great hardship and difficulty."
Vocabulary lists containing hardscrabble
Life Is So Good
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Last Night at the Telegraph Club
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The Testaments
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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.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung praised the resolve of Brazil's leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of talks in Seoul on Monday, saying both rose to the top from hardscrabble beginnings.
From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026
From hardscrabble beginnings, they rise to become Germany’s foremost carmakers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026
President Masoud Pezeshkian promised dialogue and acknowledged "legitimate demands" in in a country where inflation soars near 50%, and currency depreciations play havoc with people's hardscrabble lives.
From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026
Mom was the youngest of 10 kids and grew up hardscrabble.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025
They skimmed up the sloping side, dodging a few boulders and hardscrabble trees, until they reached the top.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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.
