From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishstrugglestrug‧gle1 /ˈstrʌɡəl/ ●●○ W3 verb [intransitive] 1 FIGHT FOR OR AGAINST somethingto try extremely hard to achieve something, even though it is very difficultstruggle to do something She’s struggling to bring up a family alone.struggle with The airline is struggling with high costs.struggle for Millions of people are struggling for survival.struggle against Firms are struggling against a prolonged recession.► see thesaurus at try2 a) to fight someone who is attacking you or holding you, especially so that you can escapestruggle with James was hit in the mouth as he struggled with the burglars.struggle to do something She struggled to free herself. b) if two people struggle, they fight each other for something, especially something one of them is holdingstruggle for They struggled for possession of the gun.FIGHT3 DIFFICULTto move somewhere with great difficultystruggle up/out of/into etc Walkers were struggling up the dusty track.4 to be likely to fail, even though you are trying very hard The team has been struggling all season.a struggling artist/writer/business → struggle on→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
struggle• I struggled and shouted as he dragged me out into the corridor.• She tried to struggle but he put his hand over her mouth.• The victim had obviously struggled furiously against her attacker.• Johnny is struggling in school.• In a small way, private schemes also exist in Maryland and Ohio, though these too have been struggling of late.• The couple had struggled to convince the public of their sincerity.• Vince struggled to free himself from the policeman's grip.• Sethe slid to the floor and struggled to get back into her dress.• Ally Mauchlen, substituted on Saturday with a groin strain, is also struggling to make it.• When you are first struggling to make your business a success, you are particularly vulnerable.• Underresourced hospitals struggle to provide medicines and care.• It seems that he struggled with the robber and got quite seriously hurt.struggle to do something• She struggled to express her feelings.• Meanwhile, consultants struggle to get the right metaphor.• His hair was dark brown and he was struggling to grow a mustache that only made him look like a fugitive.• She struggled to her feet; lightheaded and leg-weary, she collapsed at the foot of her parents kang.• I swallowed hard and struggled to keep from crying.• I found my father struggling to lift one end of an enormous chest of drawers.• Non-college women with children struggling to make ends meet have a different agenda from that of single college-educated women with hot careers.• The evening's proceedings struggle to match up to Jesse's performance.• Ruthin struggled to post 107-9, the biggest single contribution of 16 coming in extras.• Underresourced hospitals struggle to provide medicines and care.• Who is he, I wonder, as I struggle to superimpose a young face on his middle-aged features.• Animals face a real struggle to survive in these harsh conditions.• There are too many families struggling to survive on low incomes.struggle to do something• Meanwhile, consultants struggle to get the right metaphor.• His hair was dark brown and he was struggling to grow a mustache that only made him look like a fugitive.• She struggled to her feet; lightheaded and leg-weary, she collapsed at the foot of her parents kang.• Non-college women with children struggling to make ends meet have a different agenda from that of single college-educated women with hot careers.• The evening's proceedings struggle to match up to Jesse's performance.• Ruthin struggled to post 107-9, the biggest single contribution of 16 coming in extras.• Underresourced hospitals struggle to provide medicines and care.• Who is he, I wonder, as I struggle to superimpose a young face on his middle-aged features.struggle up/out of/into etc• I struggled up into a sitting position, my back resting against a chair.• Encased in dry-suits, they struggled out into the bay to come crashing in on their boards.• Alice struggled out of the flimsy pink nightgown and tossed it at the foot of the bed.strugglestruggle2 ●●○ W3 noun [countable] 1 FIGHT FOR OR AGAINST somethinga long hard fight to get freedom, political rights etcstruggle for a struggle for survival a power struggle between forces favoring and opposing change2 a long period of time in which you try to deal with a difficult problemstruggle with/against She spoke of her struggles with shyness.3 FIGHTa fight between two people for something, or an attempt by one person to escape from the other Police said there were no signs of a struggle.4 → be a struggle (for somebody)Examples from the Corpus
struggle• No more are we just reacting, helpless pawns in a struggle between the medical profession and death.• Eva had seen the hard financial struggle her parents had faced.• Isolation, the call for a lonely struggle against hostile critics, will not help.• I cut through shallow, sandy hills, but the struggle was anaesthetized by day-dreams.• If you persist in bringing to us your iron and flame, the struggle will be long.• It is the struggle to suppress our pain which really hurts.• He devoted his life to the struggle against fascism and oppression.• Many freedom fighters were imprisoned, but they never gave up the struggle.• The struggle with the skirmishers lasted all morning, with additional blue columns arriving on the field from time to time.• Stein and Eberhardt are not alone in their struggles.• Nkrumah led the people in their struggle for independence.• The suspect died after a violent struggle with police officers.power struggle• In the winter of 1926-7 a power struggle brought it to the attention of the police.• Will there be a power struggle between Parks and the business side in their presentations to Willes?• Meanwhile Newcastle have delivered a bizarre snub to the losers in the bitter power struggle against chairman Sir John Hall.• It is a patchwork of well-tested rules, long-forgotten power struggles, and reactionary humbug.• The patron can call on his clients for active support, a facet which is important in local power struggles.• I thought of it as the power struggle that goes on in relationships.• The future of the Republican party hangs on the power struggle that will take place over his fallen candidacy.• It was about this time that the power struggle between King Charles I and parliament began to escalate.struggle with/against• Yet this is not the actual struggle with convention going on in these lines.• I made it to the bathroom and struggled with my trousers.• Fred was no reader and he struggled with words.• He struggled with that at times.• It is about individual struggles with social revolution.• Kelly's struggle with cancer• More importantly, she continued to struggle with the increasingly demanding role of Mrs Hoffman.• With time to kill at the airport, I occupied myself smirking at travelers struggling with overcoats.• Polly could see that Jack was struggling with something inside himself but she did not know what it could be. 