- struggle
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 fightADJECTIVE▪ epic, great, life-and-death, titanic▪ bitter, desperate, fierce, heroic, violent▪
There were the sounds of a desperate struggle.
▪ continuing, ongoing▪ protracted▪ unequal (esp. BrE)▪ armed▪The group supported the armed struggle against the dictator.
▪ class, internecine▪Marx wrote about the class struggle.
▪ inner, internal▪The author illustrates the inner struggles of this complicated woman.
▪The party is locked in an internal struggle.
▪ economic, ideological, leadership, liberation, political, power, revolutionaryVERB + STRUGGLE▪ begin, end▪ join, take up▪They took up the struggle against racism.
▪ carry on, wage▪ be engaged in, be locked in▪species engaged in a life-or-death struggle with the environment
▪ lead▪ lose, win▪ put up▪If someone snatched your bag, would you put up a struggle?
STRUGGLE + VERB▪ ensue, take place▪ continue, go on▪ intensifyPREPOSITION▪ in a/the struggle▪One of the guards was hurt in the struggle.
▪ without a struggle▪She won't give up without a struggle.
▪ struggle against▪the struggle against oppression
▪ struggle between▪the struggle between good and evil
▪ struggle for▪the long struggle for democracy
▪ struggle over▪a struggle over the property
▪ struggle with▪He was involved in a struggle with the police.
PHRASES▪ a sign of a struggle▪The police said that there was no sign of a struggle by the murder victim.
▪ years of struggle▪After 150 years of struggle against colonial rule, the country won its independence.
2 great effortADJECTIVE▪ great, hard, real, uphill▪It will be an uphill struggle to maintain exports at the current level.
▪ long▪ ceaseless, constant, daily, endless▪the daily struggle for survival
VERB + STRUGGLE▪ face, have▪We had a real struggle to get everything into the suitcase.
▪ give up▪I've given up the struggle to keep my house clean.
PHRASES▪ a bit of a struggle▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}It was a bit of a struggle for me to get there so early.
verb1 try very hard to do sthADVERB▪ desperately, hard, manfully, mightily (esp. AmE), painfully, valiantly▪He struggled desperately to get to the shore.
▪He struggled hard to keep the boat upright.
▪ a little▪ constantly▪ on▪She struggled on despite the pain.
VERB + STRUGGLE▪ have toPREPOSITION▪ against▪The small boat struggled against the waves.
▪ along, down, up▪They struggled up the hill.
▪ for▪Shona struggled for breath.
▪ through▪The family struggled through the next few years.
PHRASES▪ struggle to your feet▪She struggled to her feet and set off after him.
2 have great difficultiesADVERB▪ badly▪The team struggled badly last season.
▪ really▪He was really struggling in geometry.
▪ clearly, obviously▪ financially▪I was unemployed and struggling financially.
▪ defensively (esp. AmE), offensively (AmE) (both sports)PREPOSITION▪ through, with▪I'm really struggling with this essay.
PHRASES▪ struggle to make ends meet▪For years, she struggled to make ends meet.
3 fight sb/try to get away from sbADVERB▪ fiercely, furiously, violently▪She struggled furiously but could not get away.
▪ together▪Ben and Jack struggled together on the grass.
PREPOSITION▪ against▪She struggled against her attacker.
▪ with▪He was hit in the mouth as he struggled with the raiders.
PHRASES▪ struggle free▪The attacker's victim managed to struggle free.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
