Try Our Apps


Pore Over vs. Pour Over

hard time

a period of difficulties or hardship.
He had merely been fined before, but now was sentenced to 90 days' hard time in the county jail.
give a hard time, Informal. to bother, annoy, or harass:
He gave me a hard time about the money I owe him.
Origin of hard time
1905-10 Unabridged
Cite This Source
Examples from the Web for hard time
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples
  • “You would have a hard time making Father see that,” put in Gloria, with a smile.

    Philip Dru: Administrator Edward Mandell House
  • Poor souls, they have had a hard time since the heavy rains began.

  • I have had a hard time of it, so far; but now I have taken my life into my own hands, and I mean to live it out.

    The Black Cat John Todhunter
  • You and Burton may have a hard time of it if Hogan and Wynn are together.

    Owen Clancy's Happy Trail Burt L. Standish
  • “He would have had a hard time stopping him,” Johnny chuckled.

    Red Dynamite Roy J. Snell
Slang definitions & phrases for hard time

hard time

noun phrase

Time actually spent in prison by a sentenced criminal: Hard men are serving hard time 10 miles down the road (1930s+ Underworld)

Related Terms

give someone a hard time

Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
Cite This Source
Idioms and Phrases with hard time

hard time

Also, hard times. A period of difficulty or hardship, especially financial hardship. For example, Since Mom died, Christmas has been a hard time for Dad, or It's been hard times for both of them since they split up. It is also put as have a hard time, as in I'm having a hard time finishing this book. Charles Dickens used Hard Times as the title of a novel about poverty (1854). A more recent version is have a time of it, which despite its ambiguity (not specifying either “good” or “bad”) nearly always means “experiencing difficulty”; for example, We had quite a time of it in that hurricane. [ Late 1300s ]
give someone a hard time. Annoy or harass someone. For example, Don't let him give you a hard time; he's often late himself. [ ; early 1900s ]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Cite This Source

Word of the Day

Difficulty index for hard time

Few English speakers likely know this word

Word Value for hard

Scrabble Words With Friends

Nearby words for hard time