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

  • (..) and the cub is still blind. Its eyes do not fully open until three months after birth, but the chances of the cub reaching adulthood are slim. The struggle of a giant panda mother to raise her cub is a touching symbol of the precariousness of life in the mountains. On the highest summits (..)
    2006 TvShow: Planet Earth Title: Mountains Season: 1 Episode 2
  • (..) among the rocks. Moths may seem a meager meal for a bear, but their bodies are rich in fat and can make all the difference in a bear's annual struggle for survival. Another battle is being waged here but on a much longer timescale. These loose boulders are the mountain's crumbling bones. (..)
    2006 TvShow: Planet Earth Title: Mountains Season: 1 Episode 2