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• hard-on
  hard-on

  noun

  an erection of the penis.
• hard on
  hard on

  Also, hard upon, hard by . In close proximity, as in The police were hard on the heels of the thieves , or It was hard upon three o'clock , or Their house is hard by ours . The variants are used less than hard on . [Second half of 1700s]

hard-on

American  

[hahrd-on, -awn] / ˈhɑrdˌɒn, -ˌɔn /

noun

Slang: Vulgar.

hard-ons plural

1. an erection of the penis.

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hard on Idioms  

1. Also, hard upon, hard by . In close proximity, as in The police were hard on the heels of the thieves , or It was hard upon three o'clock , or Their house is hard by ours . The variants are used less than hard on . [Second half of 1700s]

2. be hard on . Deal severely with, cause damage to. For example, He asked the teacher not to be too hard on those who forgot the assignment , or That cat has really been hard on the upholstery . [Second half of 1600s] Also see hard time , def. 2.

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Usage

What does hard-on mean? A hard-on is slang for an erection of the penis. It has been extended as a metaphor for being excited about something in general. The vulgar slang hard-on is not to be confused with the expression to be hard (on someone) is to be mean and critical, or to he expression to go hard (on something), meaning "to go all out."What are some other forms of hard-on?hard on

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hard-ons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hard-on

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hard on

Concerns about AI spending hit the market value of the Magnificent Seven hard on Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

“It was a difficult, difficult situation,” Wellman said, “considering the success that Umberto had on Journalism. It was hard on everybody for a lot of reasons.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

As many of them see it, a failure by the parliamentary commissioner for standards to come down hard on Farage would make a mockery of plenty of other MPs' diligence.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

One caregiver who was hard on their own care performance said, “It would be better if we had clearer or more defined roles.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

I’d been trained my entire life to compartmentalize, to give my entire focus to the situation at hand, and I leaned hard on the habits developed from years and years of study and work.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin