hard time
noun
US
: a long or difficult prison sentence
He could be facing hard time for his crimes.
Examples of hard time in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Virginia Foxx, the Republican congresswoman from North Carolina, has spent the last few months giving elite schools a hard time.
—
Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Prompted by concerns from the California Highway Patrol that officers were having a hard time reading the license plate numbers, the law required that any logo be no larger than 2-by-3 inches — about the size of a business card.
—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
My son is having an increasingly hard time handling annoyances from his youngest sister.
—Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
This change in attitude explains Moscow’s desire to step up military and technological cooperation with Beijing, as does China’s growing leverage in the bilateral relationship—Russia is having a hard time resisting China’s requests to share sensitive technology.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
Has your sister been giving you a hard time about all this?
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2024
While most people can agree that tipping for service at a restaurant or café is reasonable, many are having a hard time getting behind leaving extra dollars at retail stores, airports, and even self-service kiosks.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
The Celtics had an equally hard time early in the first, going 1 of 9 to start before making 9 of 11 to open a 12-point lead after the opening period.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 6 Apr. 2024
Look no further than the hard time the Bank of Japan is having stepping away from 25 years of zero rates.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Prompted by concerns from the California Highway Patrol that officers were having a hard time reading the license plate numbers, the law required that any logo be no larger than 2-by-3 inches — about the size of a business card.
—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
My son is having an increasingly hard time handling annoyances from his youngest sister.
—Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
This change in attitude explains Moscow’s desire to step up military and technological cooperation with Beijing, as does China’s growing leverage in the bilateral relationship—Russia is having a hard time resisting China’s requests to share sensitive technology.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
Has your sister been giving you a hard time about all this?
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2024
While most people can agree that tipping for service at a restaurant or café is reasonable, many are having a hard time getting behind leaving extra dollars at retail stores, airports, and even self-service kiosks.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
The Celtics had an equally hard time early in the first, going 1 of 9 to start before making 9 of 11 to open a 12-point lead after the opening period.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 6 Apr. 2024
Look no further than the hard time the Bank of Japan is having stepping away from 25 years of zero rates.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hard time.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hard time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard%20time. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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