ENGLISH
REFERENCE

struggle

v. · n.
US //ˈstɹəɡəɫ// UK //stɹˈʌɡəl// strug·gle
  1. 1 to have difficulty (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to find something very hard to do or deal with.

    to experience significant difficulty in achieving a task or maintaining a standard.

    Example

    Many students struggle with math because the concepts are quite abstract.

    Example

    Even experienced researchers struggle to keep pace with the sheer volume of new data being published in the field every month.

    Usage

    Often used with the preposition 'with' or followed by an infinitive.
    Pitfall
    He struggles with do his homework.
    He struggles with doing his homework.

    The preposition 'with' must be followed by a noun or a gerund (-ing form).

  2. 2 to move with effort (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to move your body with great effort, often to get free from something.

    to make violent or forceful physical efforts to escape from restraint or to move through an obstacle.

    Example

    The cat struggled to get out of the carrier when we arrived at the vet.

    Example

    The climber struggled against the gale-force winds, trying to maintain his footing on the narrow, icy ridge.

    Usage

    Intransitive verb; often describes physical resistance.
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  1. 3 a difficult task (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    a situation that is very hard to deal with or requires a lot of work.

    an act of striving or a period of difficult effort against opposition or hardship.

    Example

    It was a real struggle to finish the marathon in such hot weather.

    Example

    The long struggle for independence eventually led to a peaceful transition of power and the establishment of a new constitution.

    Usage

    Countable noun.
  2. 4 physical fight (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a physical fight or a situation where people use force against each other.

    a physical encounter or scuffle involving forceful resistance.

    Example

    There were signs of a struggle in the room, with chairs knocked over and glass on the floor.

    Example

    A brief struggle ensued as the guards attempted to disarm the intruder before he could reach the secure wing of the facility.

    Usage

    Often used with 'ensued' or 'broke out'.
Origin

From Middle English struglen, stroglen, strogelen, of obscure origin. Cognate with Scots strugil (“to struggle, grapple, contend”). Perhaps from a variant of strokelen, stroukelen (> English stroll), from Middle Dutch struyckelen ("to stumble, trip, falter"; > Modern Dutch struikelen), the frequentative form of Old Dutch strūkon (“to stumble”), from Proto-Germanic strūkōną, strūkēną (“to be stiff”), from Proto-Indo-European strug-, *ster- (“to be stiff; to bristle, strut, stumble, fall”), related to Middle Low German strûkelen ("to stumble"; > Low German strükeln), Old High German strūhhēn, strūhhōn ("to stumble, trip, tumble, go astray"; > German strauchen, straucheln). Alternative etymology derives the base of struggle from Old Norse strúgr (“arrogance, pride, spitefulness, ill-will”) + -le (frequentative suffix), from Proto-Germanic *strūkaz (“stiff, rigid”), ultimately from the same Proto-Indo-European root above, which would make it cognate with dialectal Swedish strug (“contention, strife, discord”), Norwegian stru (“obstinate, unruly”), Danish struende (“reluctantly”), Scots strug (“difficulty, perplexity, a laborious task”).

Word family

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