in distress

idiom

: very upset

He was clearly in distress upon hearing the news.

: in a very difficult situation in which one does not have enough money, food, etc.

She's chosen to devote her life to helping those in distress.

of a boat, airplane, etc. : in a state of danger or desperate need

The ship was in distress.

Examples of in distress in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Over the next several hours, Norberg continued to vomit, plead for help and lie in distress, the lawsuit said. —

Jennifer Rodriguez, Kansas City Star, 3 June 2024 Justin Timberlake briefly stopped people from rocking their bodies to help a fan in distress at a Saturday concert. —

Angie Orellana Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2024 Sheriff’s officials said the granddaughter was not in distress and was medically cleared by paramedics at the scene. —

Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 7 May 2024 Rangers responded to the emergency call about the hiker in distress and deployed a helicopter with search and rescue personnel, the NPS said. —

Greg Norman, Fox News, 14 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for in distress

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'in distress.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.