How to Use in dire straits in a Sentence

in dire straits

idiom
  • The episode ends with Jenny and Cassie once more in dire straits.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 22 Oct. 2021
  • Zelda has gone from the one in dire straits to the hero forging ahead to the rescue.
    — Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2024
  • He’s intrigued, and, knowing Ruth is in dire straits, asks her to come aboard.
    — Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Dec. 2024
  • But Iran is in dire straits, and the supreme leader can ignore the facts for only so long.
    — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025
  • But even some young Gen Xers in this group are finding themselves in dire straits.
    — Chloe Berger, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2024
  • The British economy is in dire straits, and voters expect Labour to fix it.
    — Matthias Matthijs, Foreign Affairs, 30 Apr. 2024
  • Forget the Red Wings’ Stanley Cup hopes; their chances of even surviving the first round were in dire straits.
    — Gene Myers, Detroit Free Press, 18 Apr. 2022
  • The Dodgers’ pitching plans were in dire straits, forcing them to turn relievers for a bullpen game.
    — Jay Paris, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
  • Just shy of a decade ago, cuddling a cat this aggressively would have left me in dire straits.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2022
  • There are places and people willing to help pregnant women who are in dire straits.
    — Rachel Hackett, National Review, 30 July 2023
  • In many ways, San Francisco’s downtown is in dire straits.
    — Samantha Delouya, CNN, 30 Aug. 2023
  • And now Fisker, already in dire straits, might become one of the first big casualties of the slowdown.
    — Melvin Backman, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024
  • In a certain way, the muted dramatic tone suits the circumstances: This is the depths of the Great Depression, and the have-nots are in dire straits.
    — Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Dec. 2023
  • Because as the prices go up, and the money stays the same or goes down, every town will be in dire straits to fund education.
    — Alison Cross, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2024
  • This time last year, Maryland hospitals were in dire straits.
    — Angela Roberts, Baltimore Sun, 12 Jan. 2023
  • But, as troubled as the industry may be, not everyone is in dire straits to the same degree.
    — Justin Worland, Time, 13 June 2025
  • There’s the implication that the receiver is in dire straits and perhaps needs the cash more than, say, a cashmere sweater.
    — Allie Volpe, Vox, 19 Nov. 2024
  • Banks that issued mortgages on homes would be in dire straits as owners default on their loans.
    — Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2024
  • Already in dire straits, movie theaters would be crushed by such a transition.
    — Jeva Lange, TheWeek, 6 Aug. 2020
  • Afterall, the 49ers were in dire straits at quarterback.
    — Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY, 11 Aug. 2023
  • Giuliani has been in dire straits for months and is facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills.
    — Edith Olmsted, The New Republic, 17 Aug. 2023
  • It must be lured, placated and trapped, preferably before the end of the seven-day span when poor Tamira (still alive but in dire straits) will be killed.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 18 Sep. 2023
  • With injuries mounting, Blanchester was in dire straits going in to its matchup against Norwood.
    — Jonathan X. Simmons, cleveland, 13 Sep. 2022
  • The Panama Canal, which connects Atlantic and Pacific trading routes, has been in dire straits for some time.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 11 Apr. 2024
  • Both sidestep that barring congressional action, the program will be in dire straits in about a decade.
    — Louis Jacobson, Samantha Putterman, Austin American-Statesman, 10 Sep. 2024
  • Put them in dire straits, Chabon seems to be saying, and Jews will descend to the level of their enemies — and the U.S. government will happily back them.
    — Jack Butler, National Review, 4 Nov. 2023
  • Sam Bankman-Fried, a billionaire who has become the go-to person for bailing out or looking to take over crypto firms in dire straits, passed on a deal to acquire the lender.
    — Jack Kelly, Forbes, 6 July 2022
  • Read: Boeing was this close to launching astronauts None of this, officials have said, means the astronauts are in dire straits.
    — Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 24 July 2024
  • That leaves thousands who hail from among the poorest areas of the West Bank in dire straits as many are forced to rent temporary housing in neighboring villages.
    — Julia Frankel, TIME, 28 Feb. 2025
  • But, apparently, none of that was contributing to the financial well-being of the resort, which has allegedly been in dire straits for years now.
    — Megan Michelson, Outside Online, 4 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'in dire straits.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: