struggle

UK: /ˈstrʌg^əl/ US: /ˈstrʌgəl/ ,(strug′əl)

Inflections of 'struggle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

struggles

v 3rd person singular

struggling

v pres p

struggled

v past

struggled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

strug•gle /ˈstrʌgəl/   v., -gled, -gling, n. 
v. 

1. to fight hard against an attacker:
   [no object* (~ + against/with + object)] He struggled against the mugger and at last broke free.
2. to work hard to solve a task or problem:
   [no object* (~ + against/with + object)] She struggled with calculus but eventually understood it.
3. to make great efforts;
   strive:
   [~ + to + verb] He struggled to get free.
4. to advance with great effort:
   [~ + through + object] to struggle through heavy snow.

n. [countable]

5. an act or instance of struggling, as a war or contest:
   a struggle with the children to get them to go to bed on time.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

strug•gle  (strug′əl), v., -gled, -gling, n. 
v.i. 

1. to contend with an adversary or opposing force.
2. to contend resolutely with a task, problem, etc.;
   strive:
   to struggle for existence.
3. to advance with violent effort:
   to struggle through the snow.
4. Sport (of athletes and competitors) to be coping with inability to perform well or to win;
   contend with difficulty:
   After struggling for the whole month of June, he suddenly caught fire and raised his batting average 30 points.

v.t. 

5. to bring, put, etc., by struggling:
   She struggled the heavy box into a corner.
6. to make (one's way) with violent effort.

n. 

7. the process or an act or instance of struggling.
8. a war, fight, conflict, or contest of any kind.
9. a task or goal requiring much effort to accomplish or achieve.

• Middle English struglen, stroglen, frequentative verb, verbal (see -le) formed on a base of obscure origin, originally 1350–1400

strug′gler, n. 
strug′gling•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 1. oppose, contest, fight, conflict.
• 7. endeavor, exertion.
• 8. encounter, skirmish.
  Struggle, brush, clash refer to a hostile meeting of opposing persons, parties, or forces.
  Struggle implies vigorous bodily effort or violent exertion:
  a hand-to-hand struggle.
  A brush is a brief, but smart, and often casual combat:
  a brush between patrols.
  Clash implies a direct and sharp collision between opposing parties, efforts, interests, etc.:
  a clash of opinions.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

struggle / ˈstrʌɡ^əl/ verb

1. (intr; usually followed by for or against; may take an infinitive) to exert strength, energy, and force; work or strive
2. (intransitive) to move about strenuously so as to escape from something confining
3. (intransitive) to contend, battle, or fight
4. (intransitive) to go or progress with difficulty

noun

1. a laboured or strenuous exertion or effort
2. a fight or battle
3. the act of struggling
4. the struggle ⇒ the radical and armed opposition to apartheid, esp by the military wings of the ANC and the PAC

Etymology: 14th Century: of obscure origin

ˈstruggling adjective