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
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
Now, after 15 months of war between Hamas and Israel, the water system in Gaza has gone from hardscrabble and tenuous to virtually nonexistent.
—
Claudine Ebeid, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2025
Sorenstam is humbled by her place in the LPGA Tour’s history and her sport’s hardscrabble roots.
—Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2025
Saturday’s hardwood Egg Bowl was hardscrabble and a game of the year contender, with Mississippi State pulling the 84-81 overtime win.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Better Man follows Williams’s hardscrabble youth, his rise to fame, and the ups and downs that came with notoriety, all punctuated by interpretations of some of his most famous tracks.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025
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Claudine Ebeid, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2025
Sorenstam is humbled by her place in the LPGA Tour’s history and her sport’s hardscrabble roots.
—Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2025
Saturday’s hardwood Egg Bowl was hardscrabble and a game of the year contender, with Mississippi State pulling the 84-81 overtime win.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Better Man follows Williams’s hardscrabble youth, his rise to fame, and the ups and downs that came with notoriety, all punctuated by interpretations of some of his most famous tracks.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Cite this Entry
“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hardscrabble. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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