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Definition of hard up adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

hard up

adjective
 
/ˌhɑːd ˈʌp/
 
/ˌhɑːrd ˈʌp/
 (informal)
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  1. having very little money, especially for a short period of time
    • They’re not really as hard up as they say they are.
    • I was so hard up I couldn't afford the price of a cup of coffee.
    Synonyms poorpoordisadvantaged ▪ needy ▪ impoverished ▪ deprived ▪ penniless ▪ hard upThese words all describe somebody who has very little or no money and therefore cannot satisfy their basic needs.poor having very little money; not having enough money for basic needs:
    • They were too poor to buy shoes for the kids.
    disadvantaged having less money and fewer opportunities than most people in society:
    • socially disadvantaged sections of the community
    needy poor:
    • It’s a charity that provides help for needy children.
    impoverished (in the media) poor:
    • Thousands of impoverished peasants are desperate to move to the cities.
    deprived [usually before noun] without enough food, education, and all the things that are necessary for people to live a happy and comfortable life     poor, needy, impoverished or deprived?Poor is the most general of these words and can be used to describe yourself, another individual person, people as a group, or a country or an area. Needy is mostly used to describe people considered as a group: it is not used to talk about yourself or individual people: poor/​needy children/​families • They were too needy to buy shoes for the kids. Impoverished is used, especially in journalism, to talk about poor countries and the people who live there. To talk about poor areas in rich countries, use deprived.penniless (literary) having no money; very poor:
    • He died penniless in Paris.
    hard up (informal) having very little money, especially for a short period of time:
    • I was always hard up as a student.
    Patterns
    • poor/​disadvantaged/​needy/​impoverished/​deprived/​penniless/​hard-up people/​families
    • poor/​disadvantaged/​needy/​impoverished/​deprived areas
    • poor/​disadvantaged/​impoverished countries
    • a(n) poor/​disadvantaged/​impoverished/​deprived background
    Topics Social issuesc1
  2. hard up (for something) having nothing interesting to do, talk about, etc.
    • ‘You could always go out with Steve.’ ‘I'm not that hard up!’
    • The newspapers must be hard up for news if they’ve got to publish stories like that (= they must have very little real news).
See hard up in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: hard up

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