as in poor
lacking money or material possessions
despite being undeniably hard up, they had too much pride to accept charity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of hard up
This letter descended to Charles Austen and thence to his granddaughters, who, hard up, sold it in the 1920s, part of a larger cache of relics and manuscripts.
—
Literary Hub, 4 Aug. 2025
But figuring out how to finance college so that neither parent nor child are left financially hard up?
—Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 18 May 2025
Obviously someone who loses their job and is really hard up for cash will give serious thought to canceling or pausing subscriptions.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025
Over the last two seasons, he’s figured out how to throw the ball hard up to left-handed hitters for weak contact and to their back foot for swing-and-miss.
—Tim Britton, The Athletic, 13 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hard up
Literary Hub, 4 Aug. 2025
But figuring out how to finance college so that neither parent nor child are left financially hard up?
—Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 18 May 2025
Obviously someone who loses their job and is really hard up for cash will give serious thought to canceling or pausing subscriptions.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025
Over the last two seasons, he’s figured out how to throw the ball hard up to left-handed hitters for weak contact and to their back foot for swing-and-miss.
—Tim Britton, The Athletic, 13 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hard up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard up
Adjective
-
Semmann said stores raise prices primarily in response to supply chain issues, such as poor harvests, changes to international trade policy or increasing logistical costs.—
Francesca Pica,
jsonline.com,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Boating conditions are poor across offshore waters south of Cape Canaveral, while small craft need to exercise caution near the inlets.—
Garfield Hylton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Pilgrims also threw in coins as offerings, some later retrieved by impoverished people to survive.—
Norma Meyer,
Oc Register,
4 Feb. 2026
-
The penultimate episode saw Deathclaws descending on Freeside, an impoverished community on the fringes of New Vegas.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
And Cannon — who played with the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs — admitted to counterfeiting in the mid-1980s after a series of bad investments and debts left him broke.—
Seung Min Kim,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
-
But the problem wasn’t going away, and now Perardi was broke.—
Matthew Bremner,
Rolling Stone,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hard up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard%20up. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
