struggle
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To try very hard to do something difficult.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
struhguhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈstɹʌɡəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
To strive, to labour in difficulty, to fight (for or against), to contend.
Be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
To strive, or to make efforts, with a twisting, or with contortions of the body.
To have difficulty with something.
noun
Strenuous effort
“The struggle to get through the crowd exhausted her.”
figurative
Strife, contention, great effort.
A contortion of the body in an attempt to escape or to perform a difficult task.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To strive, to labour in difficulty, to fight (for or against), to contend.
Used this way, struggle is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use struggle
- “He struggled to get free from the rope.”verb
- “She struggled for years to survive without welfare.”verb
- “The struggle to get through the crowd exhausted her.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Conflict between social or economic classes (especially between the capitalist and proletariat classes).
The act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat.
A terrorist group of radical Palestinians who split with al-Fatah in 1967 but now have close relations with al-Fatah.
An extreme leftist terrorist group formed in Greece in 1971 to oppose the military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “struggle” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.