1. To exert strenuous effort against opposition
   "he struggled to get free from the rope"
    
2. Make a strenuous or laboured effort
   "She struggled for years to survive without welfare";
   - fight
    
3. Be engaged in a physical struggle, by hand or using weapons
   "Militant groups are struggling for control of the country";
   - fight
    
4. Climb awkwardly over rough or steep ground, often also using hands
   "The hikers struggled up the rocky slope";
   - clamber, scramble, shinny [N. Amer, informal]

1. An open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)
   "the harder the struggle the more glorious the triumph";
   - conflict, battle
    
2. An energetic attempt to achieve something
   "getting through the crowd was a real struggle";
   - battle
    
3. Strenuous effort
   "the struggle to get through the crowd exhausted her"

Derived forms: struggled, struggles, struggling

Type of: act, assay [archaic], attempt, climb, effort, elbow grease [informal], endeavor [US], endeavour [Brit, Cdn], essay, exertion, group action, move, seek, strive, sweat [informal], travail [literary], try

Encyclopedia: Struggle