adj.
- solid, firm, and rigid; not easily broken, bent, or pierced.
▸(of a person) not showing any signs of weakness; tough.
- requiring or demonstrating a great deal of endurance or effort; difficult.
▸strict and demanding:
a hard taskmaster.
▸denoting an extreme or dogmatic faction within a political party:
the hard left.
- (of information or a subject of study) concerned with precise and verifiable facts:
hard science.
- harsh or unpleasant to the senses.
▸(of a season or the weather) severe.
- done with a great deal of force or strength:
a hard whack.
- strongly alcoholic; denoting a spirit rather than beer or wine.
▸(of a drug) potent and addictive.
- (of water) containing mineral salts.
- (of pornography) highly obscene and explicit.
- (of prices of shares, commodities, etc.) high and stable; firm.
- (of radiation) highly penetrating.
- (of a consonant) pronounced as a velar plosive (as c in cat, g in go).
adv.
- with a great deal of effort.
▸with a great deal of force; violently.
- so as to be solid or firm.
- to the fullest extent possible:
put the wheel hard over to starboard.
n.
Brit. a road leading down across a foreshore.
Phrase
- be hard put
(to it)
find it very difficult. - go hard with
dated turn out to (someone's) disadvantage. - hard and fast
[usu. with neg.]
(of a rule or distinction) fixed and definitive. - hard at it
informal busily working. - hard by
close to. - hard cheese
Brit. informal, dated used to express sympathy over a petty matter. - hard done by
Brit. harshly or unfairly treated. - hard feelings
[usu. with neg.]
feelings of resentment. - hard going
difficult to understand or enjoy. - hard luck
(or lines)
Brit. informal used to express sympathy or commiserations. - hard of hearing
not able to hear well. - hard on
(or upon)
close to; following soon after. - the hard stuff
informal strong alcoholic drink. - hard up
informal short of money. - play hard to get
informal deliberately adopt an aloof or uninterested attitude. - put the hard word on
Austral./NZ informal ask a favour of.
Derivative
Etymology
OE hard, heard, of Gmc origin.