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struggle

Definition

  • verb: to try very hard to do, achieve, or deal with something that is difficult or that causes problems
  • verb: to make strenuous or violent efforts in the face of difficulties or opposition
  • often followed by 'to' + 'verb'
  • synonyms: labor, contend, strive

Examples

  • He has been 'struggling' with the problem of how to keep good workers from leaving.

  • She is 'struggling' with her health. [=she is having problems with her health]

  • She was 'struggling' with the door. [=trying to open the door]

Movie clips

Movie quotes

  • (..) Sandpiper brought it from far away. The price he paid was his ears and his tongue. No matter how you hold it... it always struggles to return homeward... to the star from which it fell. It always points to the north. Not in the fog. (..)
    1958 The Vikings