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
And she’s been working to get Vans back to its own hardscrabble roots.
—
Evan Clark, WWD, 6 Mar. 2025
Waukegan is counting on the project to boost its downtown economy, but this hardscrabble city will have to wait at least a couple more years for a grand opening.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025
Commoners could look forward to a paltry thirty-five or forty years of a hardscrabble existence, without the benefit of medicine, dentistry, or a decent sewage system.
—Arthur Krystal, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Grant Leonard, Queens’ 43-year-old head coach, had a hardscrabble existence on the fringes of college basketball for the first decade of his career.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Jan. 2025
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.
Evan Clark, WWD, 6 Mar. 2025
Waukegan is counting on the project to boost its downtown economy, but this hardscrabble city will have to wait at least a couple more years for a grand opening.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025
Commoners could look forward to a paltry thirty-five or forty years of a hardscrabble existence, without the benefit of medicine, dentistry, or a decent sewage system.
—Arthur Krystal, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Grant Leonard, Queens’ 43-year-old head coach, had a hardscrabble existence on the fringes of college basketball for the first decade of his career.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 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 27 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share