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hard

Pronunciation: /hɑːd/

Translate hard | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of hard

adjective

  • 1solid, firm, and rigid; not easily broken, bent, or pierced:the slate broke on the hard floor rub the varnish down when it’s hard
  • (of a person) not showing any signs of weakness; tough:only a handful are hard enough to join the SAS
  • (of prices of shares, commodities, etc.) high and stable; firm.
  • 2done with a great deal of force or strength:a hard whack
  • 3requiring a great deal of endurance or effort:airship-flying was pretty hard work it’s hard for drummers these days [with infinitive]:she found it hard to believe that he could be involved
  • putting a lot of energy into an activity:he’d been a hard worker all his life everyone has been hard at work
  • difficult to bear; causing suffering:times were hard at the end of the war he’d had a hard life
  • difficult to understand or solve:this is a really hard question
  • not showing sympathy or affection; strict:he can be such a hard taskmaster
  • denoting an extreme or dogmatic faction within a political party:the hard left
  • (of a season or the weather) severe:it’s been a long, hard winter
  • harsh or unpleasant to the senses:the hard light of morning
  • (of wine) harsh or sharp to the taste, especially because of tannin.
  • 4(of information) reliable, especially because based on something true or substantiated:hard facts about the underclass are maddeningly elusive
  • (of a subject of study) dealing with precise and verifiable facts:efforts to turn psychology into hard science
  • (of science fiction) scientifically accurate rather than purely fantastic or whimsical:a hard SF novel
  • 5very potent, powerful, or intense, in particular:
  • strongly alcoholic; denoting a spirit rather than beer or wine.
  • (of a drug) potent and addictive.
  • (of radiation) highly penetrating.
  • (of pornography) highly obscene and explicit.
  • 6(of water) containing mineral salts that make lathering difficult.
  • 7(of a consonant) pronounced as a velar plosive (as c in cat, g in go).

adverb

  • 1with a great deal of effort:they work hard at school
  • with a great deal of force; violently:it was raining hard
  • 2so as to be solid or firm:the mortar has set hard
  • 3to the fullest extent possible:put the wheel hard over to starboard

noun

British
  • a road leading down across a foreshore.

Phrases

be hard on

  • 1treat or criticize (someone) severely:you’re being too hard on her
  • 2be difficult for or unfair to:it was hard on her, because she had to walk nearly a mile out of her way
  • 3be likely to hurt or damage:the monitor flickers, which is hard on the eyes

be hard put (to it)

[usually with infinitive] find it very difficult:you’ll be hard put to find a better compromise

give someone a hard time

informal deliberately make a situation difficult for someone.

go hard with

dated turn out to (someone’s) disadvantage:it would go hard with the poor

hard and fast

(of a rule or a distinction made) fixed and definitive:there are no hard and fast rules about that

hard as nails

see nail.

hard at it

informal busily working or occupied:they were hard at it with brooms and mops

hard by

close to:he lived hard by the cathedral

hard done by

British harshly or unfairly treated:she would be justified in feeling hard done by

hard feelings

[usually with negative] feelings of resentment:there are no hard feelings and we wish him well

hard going

difficult to understand or enjoy:the studying is at times hard going

hard hit

badly affected:Trinidad had been hard hit by falling oil prices

hard luck (or lines)

British informal used to express sympathy or commiserations: ironicif you don’t like it then hard luck

a hard nut to crack

see nut.

hard of hearing

not able to hear well.

hard on (or upon)

close to; following soon after:hard on the heels of Wimbledon comes the Henley Regatta

hard up

informal short of money:I’m too hard up to buy fancy clothes

the hard way

through suffering or learning from the unpleasant consequences of mistakes:you’re going to learn the hard way who you’re up against

play hard to get

informal deliberately adopt an aloof or uninterested attitude, typically in order to make oneself more attractive or interesting.

put the hard word on

Australian/NZ informal ask a favour of (someone), especially a sexual or financial one.
put pressure on (someone).

Derivatives

hardish

adjective

Origin:

Old English hard, heard, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hard and German hart

hard in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of hard in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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