- struggle
- [[t]strʌ̱g(ə)l[/t]]
♦♦struggles, struggling, struggled1) VERB If you struggle to do something, you try hard to do it, even though other people or things may be making it difficult for you to succeed.
[V prep] They had to struggle against all kinds of adversity...
[V to-inf] Those who have lost their jobs struggle to pay their supermarket bills. [Also V]
2) N-VAR: oft N prep, N to-inf A struggle is a long and difficult attempt to achieve something such as freedom or political rights.Life became a struggle for survival.
...a young lad's struggle to support his poverty-stricken family...
He is currently locked in a power struggle with his Prime Minister.
3) VERB If you struggle when you are being held, you twist, kick, and move violently in order to get free.I struggled, but he was a tall man, well-built.
4) V-RECIP If two people struggle with each other, they fight.[pl-n V] She screamed at him to `stop it' as they struggled on the ground...
[pl-n V for n] We were struggling for the gun when it went off!...
[V with n] There were signs that she struggled with her attacker.
N-COUNTStruggle is also a noun.He died in a struggle with prison officers less than two months after coming to Britain.
5) VERB If you struggle to move yourself or to move a heavy object, you try to do it, but it is difficult.[V to-inf] I could see the young boy struggling to free himself...
[V prep] I struggled with my bags, desperately looking for a porter.
6) VERB If you struggle somewhere, you succeed in moving there, but only with great difficulty.[V prep/adv] The pilot struggled out of the wreck almost uninjured...
[V prep/adv] Catherine struggled to her feet...
[V prep/adv] I struggled into a bathrobe and staggered down the stairs.
7) VERB: only cont If a person or organization is struggling, they are likely to fail in what they are doing, even though they might be trying very hard.[V to-inf] The company is struggling to find buyers for its new product...
[V prep] One in five young adults was struggling with everyday mathematics...
By the 1960s, many shipyards were struggling.
8) N-SING: a N An action or activity that is a struggle is very difficult to do.Losing weight was a terrible struggle.
Phrasal Verbs:
English dictionary. 2008.
