hardscrabble
adjective
hard·scrab·ble
ˈhärd-ˌskra-bəl 
1
a
: being or relating to a place of barren or barely arable soil
a hardscrabble farm
hardscrabble prairies
b
: getting a meager living from poor soil
a hardscrabble farmer
2
: marked by poverty
a hardscrabble cotton town
a hardscrabble childhood
Synonyms
Examples of hardscrabble in a Sentence
He lived a hardscrabble life.
it was hard to eke out even a bare existence on the hardscrabble lands
Recent Examples on the Web
His hardscrabble background gives him a genuine connection to the white working-class voters who animate Trump’s base and will have outsize influence in the election.
—
Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 15 July 2024
Six weeks after the perplexing murders, across the country in a small, hardscrabble Pennsylvania town in the Poconos, Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology graduate student, was arrested.
—Howard Blum, Washington Post, 26 June 2024
The heartwarming movie delves into the hardscrabble life of French agriculture.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 13 Aug. 2024
Law Roach’s name is linked to celebrities like Zendaya, Celine Dion and Ariana Grande, but the stylist gave equal billing to his hardscrabble upbringing in a talk at 92Y Sunday night.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 7 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hardscrabble 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 15 July 2024
Six weeks after the perplexing murders, across the country in a small, hardscrabble Pennsylvania town in the Poconos, Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology graduate student, was arrested.
—Howard Blum, Washington Post, 26 June 2024
The heartwarming movie delves into the hardscrabble life of French agriculture.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 13 Aug. 2024
Law Roach’s name is linked to celebrities like Zendaya, Celine Dion and Ariana Grande, but the stylist gave equal billing to his hardscrabble upbringing in a talk at 92Y Sunday night.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 7 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Dictionary Entries Near hardscrabble
Cite this Entry
“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hardscrabble. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share