Join free

trouble

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

trouble

  • /ˈt͡ʃɹʌbəl/ Canada, US, UK
  • /ˈtɹʌbəl/ Canada, US, UK
  • [ˈt͡ʃɹɐbɫ̩] US
  • [ˈt̠͡ɹ̠̊˔ɐbɫ̩] US
  • [ˈt͡ʃɹɜbɫ̩] Southern US
  • [ˈt̠͡ɹ̠̊˔ɜbɫ̩] Southern US
  • /ˈtɹʊbəl/ Northern England
  • /ˈtɾʌbəl/ Scotland, Wales
  • /ˈtɹɐbəl/ Australia, New Zealand

Rhymes with -ʌbəl

Where it comes from

Verb is from Middle English troublen, trouble, borrowed from Old French troubler, trobler, trubler, metathetic variants of tourbler, torbler, turbler, from Vulgar Latin *turbulō, from Latin turbula (“disorderly group, a little crowd or people”), diminutive of turba (“stir; crowd”). The noun is from Middle English trouble, troble, from Old French troble, from the verb.

noun troubles

  1. countable, uncountable A distressing or dangerous situation. He was in trouble when the rain started.
  2. countable, uncountable A difficulty, problem, condition, or action contributing to such a situation. The trouble was a leaking brake line.
  3. countable, uncountable A person liable to place others or themselves in such a situation. Get me on the court and I'm trouble Last week, messed around and got a triple double
  4. countable, uncountable The state of being troubled, disturbed, or distressed mentally; unease, disquiet. Yet oft when sundown skirts the moor ⁠An inner trouble I behold, ⁠A spectral doubt which makes me cold, That I shall be thy mate no more, […]
  5. countable, uncountable Objectionable feature of something or someone; problem, drawback, weakness, failing, or shortcoming. Your trouble is that you quit too readily.
  6. countable, uncountable Violent or turbulent occurrence or event; unrest, disturbance. the troubles in Northern Ireland
  7. countable, uncountable Efforts taken or expended, typically beyond the normal required. It’s no trouble for me to edit it.
  8. countable, uncountable Difficulty in doing something. She has trouble eating.
  9. countable, uncountable Health problems, ailment, generally of some particular part of the body. He’s been in hospital with some heart trouble.
  10. countable, uncountable A malfunction. My old car has engine trouble.
  11. countable, uncountable Liability to punishment; conflict with authority. He had some trouble with the law.
  12. countable, uncountable A fault or interruption in a stratum.
  13. Cockney, countable, slang, uncountable Wife. Clipping of trouble and strife.
  14. countable, dated, slang, uncountable An unplanned, unwanted or undesired pregnancy. I never had schoolin’ but he taught me well / With his smooth southern style / Three months later I’m a gal in trouble / And I haven’t seen him for a while.

verb troubles · troubling · troubled

  1. archaic, transitive To disturb, stir up, agitate (a medium, especially water). For an Angel went downe at a certaine season into the poole, and troubled the water:
  2. transitive To mentally distress; to cause (someone) to be anxious or perplexed. What she said about narcissism is troubling me.
  3. transitive In weaker sense: to bother or inconvenience. I will not trouble you to deliver the letter.
  4. transitive, usually To physically afflict. My bad knee is troubling me.
  5. intransitive, reflexive To take pains (to do something); to bother. I won’t trouble to post the letter today; I can do it tomorrow.
  6. intransitive To worry; to be anxious. Why trouble about the future? It is wholly uncertain.

Talk about this word