hard-pressed

• hard pressed, hardpressed

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hard-pressed (comparative more hard-pressed, superlative most hard-pressed)

1. (idiomatic, usually with to-infinitive) Barely able. Having difficulty doing something.

   Although they are still available, I think we would be hard-pressed to find one on short notice.

   • 1939 September, D. S. Barrie, “The Railways of South Wales”, in Railway Magazine, page 157:

     From the 'fifties onwards the development of the South Wales & Monmouthshire coalfield went on at terrific speed, and railway construction was hard pressed to keep pace with it.

   • 1962 December, “Beyond the Channel: Switzerland: Federal Railways' progress”, in Modern Railways, page 417:

     These units will replace the 2,800 h.p. motor coaches on the fast and heavy Zurich-Berne-Lausanne-Geneva push-and-pull expresses, which in their turn have been relieving the hard-pressed 2,520 h.p. Bo-Bo locomotives of the Re 4/4 type.

2. (idiomatic) Experiencing financial difficulty or difficulty in surviving.

   The earthquake left the residents hard-pressed.

   • 2022 April 6, “Network News: Spring Statement: Sunak accused of making rail less competitive”, in RAIL, number 954, page 8:

     Speaking to Parliament on March 23, Sunak announced a temporary cut in fuel duty of 5p per litre to hard-pressed motorists who have faced spiralling prices for diesel and petrol in recent weeks.

• (barely able): hard put; hard pushed
• (in financial or survival difficulty): in dire straits