hardscrabble

[ hahrd-skrab-uhl ]

/ ˈhɑrdˌskræb əl /

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adjective

providing or yielding meagerly in return for much effort; demanding or unrewarding: the hardscrabble existence of mountainside farmers.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of hardscrabble

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805; hard + scrabble

Words nearby hardscrabble

hard rubber, hards, hard sauce, hardscape, hard science, hardscrabble, hard sell, hard-set, hard-shell, hard-shell clam, hard-shell crab

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hardscrabble in a sentence

After a hardscrabble youth, Nesbit moved with her mother from Pennsylvania to NYC at the age of 15.
The Love Triangle That Led to Murder in Madison Square Garden|Allison McNearney|December 19, 2021|The Daily Beast
The limited series’ depiction of the hardscrabble poor may prove more controversial.
The already great ‘Maid’ is even better with mother-daughter stars Andie MacDowell and Margaret Qualley|Inkoo Kang|September 30, 2021|Washington Post
I didn’t have a hardscrabble upbringing in the sense of deep poverty.
Roger Ferguson, CEO of TIAA, on Why You Shouldn’t Watch the Wild Stock Market All Day|Eben Shapiro|October 11, 2020|Time
Their harrowing escape to Erbil has ended in a precarious and hardscrabble existence.
Church Bells Fall Silent in Mosul as Iraq’s Christians Flee|Andrew Doran, Drew Bowling|June 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But this hardscrabble, prairie town, with its population of 5,000 people, cast its charm on Ballantine.
Death in the Heartland: What Happened to Steven Haataja?|Tim Teeman|March 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For many fans, her hardscrabble youth and rough-and-tumble style were viewed as endearing strengths.
ESPN’s ‘The Price of Gold’ Revisits the Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan Scandal|Amy Zimmerman|January 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At Big Valley, a co-ed pre-K-12 in hardscrabble Modesto, Calif., the trip to Washington D.C. has been an annual rite of passage.
The Sequester Ruined Our Eighth-Grade Trip to Washington, D.C.|David Freedlander|March 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In his hardscrabble campaign, there might not even have been a podium ready to welcome him.
What Newt Gingrich Can Do for Mitt Romney|Matt Latimer|August 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
They moved into a large house which had been a tavern in the days when lumber had been cut around Hardscrabble.
Susan B. Anthony|Alma Lutz
Mr. Anthony had the name Hardscrabble changed to Center Falls, and was made postmaster.
The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 1 of 2)|Ida Husted Harper
In March, 1839, the family moved to Hardscrabble, a small village two miles further down the Battenkill.
The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 1 of 2)|Ida Husted Harper
Its cost was to be seventy thousand dollars, which was an enormous sum in those hardscrabble days.
The History of the Telephone|Herbert N. Casson
Mr. and Mrs. Ronayne and the Doctor rode out soon after dinner, sir, in the direction of Hardscrabble.
Wau-nan-gee or the Massacre at Chicago|Major John Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for hardscrabble

hardscrabble

/ (ˈhɑːdˌskræbəl) /

noun US informal

(modifier) (of a place) difficult to make a living in; barren

great effort made in the face of difficulties

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012