straits
n. C / Un. a very difficult or serious situation, especially one where you have very little money. It is usually used in the phrase 'in dire straits'.
n. a state of extreme difficulty, distress, or financial hardship. Frequently occurs in the fixed idiom 'in dire straits' to describe a precarious or desperate situation.
The company is in dire straits after losing its biggest client.
After the factory closed, many families in the small town found themselves in increasingly difficult financial straits.
The nation's economy was in such desperate straits that the government was forced to seek an emergency loan from the international community to prevent a total collapse.
Almost always used in the plural form when referring to a difficult situation; the singular form typically refers to a narrow passage of water.