hard

adjective
UK: /hɑːd/
US: /hɑːrd/

  1. Not easy to do or achieve; requiring effort.

    1. The test was very hard. [ ] [ ]
    2. It's hard to believe they're already adults, time flies so fast now. [ ] [ ]

  2. Firm or solid; not soft.

    1. The ground is hard after the frost. [ ] [ ]
    2. This old bread is so hard I think I will soak it in water a bit first. [ ] [ ]

  3. Strict or severe.

    1. My boss is a hard man. [ ] [ ]
    2. The judge was hard on the defendant, handing down the maximum sentence allowed. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

difficult solid severe strict firm
hard adverb

  1. With great effort.

    1. She worked hard all day. [ ] [ ]
    2. It was raining hard so we stayed inside watching movies all afternoon. [ ] [ ]

  2. With force or violence.

    1. He hit the door hard. [ ] [ ]
    2. The wind blew so hard it knocked over several trees in our neighborhood. [ ] [ ]
hard intransitive-verb

  1. To try very much and do something with huge effort.

    1. I will try hard to pass. [ ] [ ]
    2. Even though I practiced very hard, I still didn't win the race yesterday. [ ] [ ]
hard noun

  1. Difficult situation or circumstance.

    1. Life can be hard sometimes. [ ] [ ]
    2. After losing his job, he fell on hard times and struggled to pay his bills. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "hard" in English means: Not easy to do or achieve; requiring effort., Firm or solid; not soft., Strict or severe..

The phonetic transcription of "hard" is /hɑːd/ in British English and /hɑːrd/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "hard": difficult, solid, severe, strict, firm.

Example usage of "hard": "The test was very hard.". More examples on the page.