struggle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
struggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
struggled,
past participle, past
-
struggling
present participle
-
to contend with an adversary or opposing force.
-
to contend resolutely with a task, problem, etc.; strive.
to struggle for existence.
-
to advance with violent effort.
to struggle through the snow.
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(of athletes and competitors) to be coping with inability to perform well or to win; contend with difficulty.
After struggling for the whole month of June, he suddenly caught fire and raised his batting average 30 points.
verb (used with object)
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struggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
struggled,
past participle, past
-
struggling
present participle
-
to bring, put, etc., by struggling.
She struggled the heavy box into a corner.
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to make (one's way) with violent effort.
verb
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(intr; usually foll by for or against; may take an infinitive) to exert strength, energy, and force; work or strive
to struggle to obtain freedom
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(intr) to move about strenuously so as to escape from something confining
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(intr) to contend, battle, or fight
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(intr) to go or progress with difficulty
noun
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a laboured or strenuous exertion or effort
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a fight or battle
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the act of struggling
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the radical and armed opposition to apartheid, especially by the military wings of the ANC and the PAC
Usage
What are other ways to say struggle?
A struggle is a war, fight, conflict, or contest of any kind. How does struggle compare to brush and clash? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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strugglesimple
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strugglessimple
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have struggledperfect
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has struggledperfect
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am strugglingprogressive
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are strugglingprogressive
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is strugglingprogressive
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have been strugglingperfect progressive
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has been strugglingperfect progressive
Past
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struggledsimple
-
had struggledperfect
-
was strugglingprogressive
-
were strugglingprogressive
-
had been strugglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of struggle
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English struglen, stroglen, frequentative verb ( see -le) formed on a base of obscure origin
Explanation
Something that can only be accomplished with great effort is said to be a struggle. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader in the Civil Rights struggle. Alice Paul was a leader in the struggle for a woman's right to vote. The verb form of struggle can be used for physical or mental effort. A police officer might struggle trying to detain a criminal or a student may struggle with a difficult algebra problem. If you scramble and climb awkwardly up something, you can also use the verb struggle to describe the action: "They struggled up the icy hill over and over again, so they could keep sledding."
Vocabulary lists containing struggle
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myPerspectives 7.1
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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.
See Examples For:
We’ve experimented with retirement simulations of our own, but we struggle to get the projected probability of success below 90%, much less find a realistic path toward exhausting our assets over the next 30 years.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
But when many urged him to call his angry supporters into the streets to protest what they believed was fraud, Cárdenas instead told them to continue the political struggle through the ballot box.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
And while their prose is sometimes redundant, even the excess flows without struggle.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026
Through it all, Huerta insisted her primary loyalty remained la causa — the struggle to win better wages, working and living conditions for poor people, particularly farmworkers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
His eyes were two small, dark slits that glittered with amusement as he watched me struggle.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
In their filmmaking, Schoenbrun sometimes struggles to apply broader themes within a minute-to-minute narrative, creating pacing issues that reveal a dissonance between intention and execution.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026
Read: Dividend stocks are having an excellent October as tech sector struggles.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
She criticised the benefits assessment process and said it was too reliant on a checklist, and did not reflect people's real-life struggles.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Even then, he says, he sometimes struggles with his balance while getting off ski lifts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
I need not narrate in detail the further struggles I had, and arguments I used, to get matters regarding the legacy settled as I wished.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Vantara's intake accelerated in 2019, and during the Covid-19 pandemic, when tourism stalled and zoos struggled.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Saskia barely left the house for nine months and initially struggled to come to terms with how much her life had changed.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Many have struggled to continue funding the maintenance and upgrades of railroad lines, with investment in the sector staying relatively flat in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Sorgenfrey struggled with what to do with her vote.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026
Ba’s mouth slackened as he struggled to make sense of what I was saying.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Officials say international supply disruptions linked to the Iran war have compounded the problem, with banks struggling to honour letters of credit and some overseas suppliers demanding upfront payment.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
He is among the lucky ones, as many are struggling to find work.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Pensions in the private sector have become almost obsolete, and Americans are struggling to cover everyday expenses, let alone save enough money for their old age.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Mr. Thompson’s account is a sympathetic portrait of a community he describes as struggling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
“It’s such a good bargain. For your gold, I shall give you …” He reached behind a stack of straw, and the whole pile shook, as though an animal was struggling to get out.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
