Phrase guide

rough sledding

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A difficult period of time.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, uncountable

Examples

  • We're running out of money. It's going to be rough sledding from now on, but we'll have to cope.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a difficulty that can be overcome with effort

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • we had a hard time getting here
  • analysts predicted rough sledding for handset makers

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hard time

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: difficulty

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.