as in poor
lacking money or material possessions
despite being undeniably hard up, they had too much pride to accept charity
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hard up
They’ve been hit particularly hard up front on offense and need youth.
—
Brad Biggs, Hartford Courant, 25 Apr. 2024
Cleveland Browns Stadium, hard up against the Science Center lawn, was plunged into darkness.
—Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 8 Apr. 2024
Once the timing of the case pushed hard up against a national election in which Trump was likely to run, forbearance would have been the proper and public-spirited course.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 14 Jan. 2024
Considering the Heat’s position hard up against the second apron of the punitive luxury tax, 10–day contracts stand as a means to pay only when needed, 10 days at a time, at the veteran-minimum, scale.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hard up
Brad Biggs, Hartford Courant, 25 Apr. 2024
Cleveland Browns Stadium, hard up against the Science Center lawn, was plunged into darkness.
—Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 8 Apr. 2024
Once the timing of the case pushed hard up against a national election in which Trump was likely to run, forbearance would have been the proper and public-spirited course.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 14 Jan. 2024
Considering the Heat’s position hard up against the second apron of the punitive luxury tax, 10–day contracts stand as a means to pay only when needed, 10 days at a time, at the veteran-minimum, scale.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hard up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard up
Adjective
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The product was released in 2023 to a poor reception, and discontinued before the company began winding down operations in February.—
Tom Huddleston Jr.,
CNBC,
24 May 2025
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This tactic is sometimes used to justify letting an employee go under the guise of poor performance.—
Sho Dewan,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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Eagerly drinking the Kool-Aid is Simone DeWitt (Alcock), a formerly impoverished but deeply ambitious upstart from Buffalo who gets a taste of the lifestyle of the rich and famous as Michaela's uppity assistant.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
23 May 2025
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That could mean removing spending from public school meal programs for impoverished children, removing access to health care to people with developmental disabilities, or cutting Social Security payments to even the deficit.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, countless others who chased hot tips and quick wins are broke, both financially and emotionally.—
Shane Enete,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
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Image Set in Brooklyn in the summer of 2022, the action takes place in the apartment of Emmy, a playwright freshly cognizant of the danger of being too broke to afford health insurance.—
Laura Collins-Hughes,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard%20up. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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