–adjective

1.	not soft; solid and firm to the touch; unyielding to pressure and impenetrable or almost impenetrable.

2.	firmly formed; tight: a hard knot.

3.	difficult to do or accomplish; fatiguing; troublesome: a hard task.

4.	difficult or troublesome with respect to an action, situation, person, etc.: hard to please; a hard time.

5.	difficult to deal with, manage, control, overcome, or understa 3e8 nd: a hard problem.

6.	involving a great deal of effort, energy, or persistence: hard labor; hard study.

7.	performing or carrying on work with great effort, energy, or persistence: a hard worker.

8.	vigorous or violent in force; severe: a hard rain; a hard fall.

9.	bad; unendurable; unbearable: hard luck.

10.	oppressive; harsh; rough: hard treatment.

11.	austere; severe: a hard winter; the hard times of the Great Depression.

12.	harsh or severe in dealing with others: a hard master.

13.	difficult to explain away; undeniable: hard facts. d08

14.	that can be verified; factual, as distinguished from speculation or hearsay: hard information.

15.	harsh or unfriendly; resentful; severe; bitter: hard feelings; hard words.

16.	of stern judgment or close examination; searching: a hard look.

17.	lacking delicacy or softness; not blurred or diffused; clear and distinct; sharp; harsh: a hard line; a hard, bright light; hard features; a hard face.

18.	(of a photograph) contrasty.

19.	severe or rigorous in terms: a hard bargain.

20.	sternly realistic; dispassionate; unsentimental: a hard, practical man; a hard view of life.

21.	incorrigible; disreputable; tough: a hard character.

22.	Scot. and North England. niggardly; stingy.

23.	in coins or paper money as distinguished from checks, securities, promissory notes, or other negotiable instruments).

24.	(of paper money or a monetary system) supported by sufficient gold reserves and easily convertible into the currency of a foreign nation.

25.	(of money) scarce or available at high interest rates: a hard loan.

26.	denoting assets with intrinsic value, as gold, silver, or diamonds.

27.	(of alcoholic beverages) a. containing more than 22.5 percent alcohol by volume, as whiskey and brandy as opposed to beer and wine. b. strong because of fermentation; intoxicating: hard cider.

28.	(of wine) tasting excessively of tannin.

29.	(of an illicit narcotic or drug) known to be physically addictive, as opium, morphine, or cocaine.

30.	(of water) containing mineral salts that interfere with the action of soap.

31.	(of bread and baked goods) a. having a firm, crisp crust or texture: hard rolls. b. stale or tough.

32.	(of a fabric) having relatively little nap; smooth: Silk is a harder fabric than wool or cotton.

33.	(of the landing of a rocket or space vehicle) executed without decelerating: a hard landing on the moon. Compare soft (def. 28).

34.	(of a missile base) equipped to launch missiles from underground silos.

35.	(of a missile) capable of being launched from an underground silo.

36.	Military. being underground and strongly protected from nuclear bombardment.

37.	Agriculture. noting wheats with high gluten content, milled for a bread flour as contrasted with pastry flour.

38.	Phonetics. a. fortis. b. (of c and g) pronounced as (k) in come and (g) in go, rather than as in cent, cello, suspicion, gem, or beige. c. (of consonants in Slavic languages) not palatalized. Compare soft (def. 26).

39.	(in the making of rope) noting a lay having a considerable angle to the axis of the rope; short.

40.	Physics. (of a beam of particles or photons) having relatively high energy: hard x-rays. Compare soft (def. 29).

41.	(of the penis) erect.

–adverb

42.	with great exertion; with vigor or violence; strenuously: to work hard; to try hard.

43.	earnestly, intently, or critically: to look hard at a thing.

44.	harshly or severely.

45.	so as to be solid, tight, or firm: frozen hard.

46.	with strong force or impact: She tripped and came down hard on her back.

47.	in a deeply affected manner; with genuine 215 sorrow or remorse: She took it very hard when they told her of his death.

48.	closely; immediately: Failure and defeat seemed hard at hand. The decision to ban students from the concerts followed hard on the heels of the riot.

49.	to an unreasonable or extreme degree; excessively; immoderately: He's hitting the bottle pretty hard.

50.	Nautical. closely, fully, or to the extreme limit: hard aport; hard alee.

–noun

51.	Nautical. a firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water.

52.	British. a. a firm or solid beach or foreshore. b. a firm landing, jetty, or road across or adjoining the foreshore.

53.	British Slang. hard labor.

—Idioms

54.	be hard on, to deal harshly with; be stern: You are being too hard on him.

55.	hard by, in close proximity to; near: The house is hard by the river.

56.	hard of hearing. hearing-impaired.

57.	hard put, in great perplexity or difficulty; at a loss: We were hard put to finish the examination in one hour.

58.	hard up, Informal. a. urgently in need of money. b. feeling a lack or need: The country is hard up for technicians and doctors.

–verb (used with object)

1.	to send, expel, or otherwise cause to move by force or compulsion: to drive away the flies; to drive back an attacking army; to drive a person to desperation.

2.	to cause and guide the movement of (a vehicle, an animal, etc.): to drive a car; to drive a mule.

3.	to convey in a vehicle: She drove them to the station.

4.	to force to work or act: He drove the workers until they collapsed.

5.	to impel; constrain; urge; compel.

6.	to carry (business, an agreement, etc.) vigorously through: He drove a hard bargain.

7.	to keep (machinery) going.

8.	Baseball. a. to cause the advance of (a base runner) by a base hit or sacrifice fly: He drove him home with a scratch single. b. to cause (a run) to be scored by a base hit or sacrifice fly: He drove in two runs.

9.	Golf. to hit (a golf ball), esp. from the tee, as with a driver or driving iron: She drove the ball within ten feet of the pin.

10.	Sports. a. to hit or propel (a ball, puck, shuttlecock, etc.) very hard. b. to kick (a ball) with much force.

11.	Hunting. a. to chase (game). b. to search (a district) for game.

12.	to float (logs) down a river or stream.

< 3e8 td class="dnindex">13.

(in mining, construction, etc.) to excavate (a mine or tunnel heading).

–verb (used without object)

14.	to cause and guide the movement of a vehicle or animal, esp. to operate an automobile.

15.	to go or travel in a driven vehicle: He drives to work with me.

16.	Golf. to hit a golf ball, esp. from the tee, as with a driver or driving iron: He drove long and straight throughout the match.

17.	to strive vigorously toward a goal or objective; to work, play, or try wholeheartedly and with determi 78e nation.

18.	to go along before an impelling force; be impelled: The ship drove before the wind.

19.	to rush or dash violently.

–noun

20.	the act of driving.

21.	a trip in a vehicle, esp. a short pleasure trip: a Sunday drive in the country.

22.	an impelling along, as of game, cattle, or floating logs, in a particular direction.

23.	the animals, logs, etc., thus driven.

24.	Psychology. an inner urge that stimulates activity or inhibition; a basic or instinctive need: the hunger drive; sex drive.

25.	a vigorous onset or onward course toward a goal or objective: the drive toward the goal line.

26.	a strong military offensive.

27.	a united effort to accomplish some specific purpose, esp. to raise money, as for a charity.

28.	energy and initiative: a person with great drive.

29.	vigorous pressure or effort, as in business.

30.	a road for vehicles, esp. a scenic one, as in or along a park, or a short one, as an approach to a house.

31.	Machinery. a driving mechanism, as of an automobile: gear drive; chain drive.

32.	Automotive. the point or points of power application to the roadway: front-wheel drive; four-wheel drive.

33.	Sports. a. an act or instance of driving a ball, puck, shuttlecock, or the like. b. the flight of such a ball, puck, shuttlecock, or the like, that has been driven with much force.

34.	Golf. a shot, esp. with a driver or driving iron from the tee, that is intended to carry a great distance.

35.	a hunt in which game is driven toward stationary hunters.

36.	Electronics. excitation (def. 5).

–adjective

37.	noting or pertaining to a part of a machine or vehicle used for its propulsion.

—Verb phrase

38.	drive at, to attempt or intend to convey; allude to; suggest: What are you driving at?

—Idiom

39.	let drive, to aim a blow or missile at; attack: He let drive at his pursuers.