To struggle means to try very hard to do something difficult or to fight against something that is holding you back.
Probably from Middle English 'stroggelen' or related Scandinavian verbs meaning 'to strive or contend'. It originally described physical wrestling and later grew to include emotional and mental effort.
When people say 'I’m struggling', it doesn’t just mean failing—it often means they’re in the middle of learning or changing. Struggle is baked into almost every success story, but we usually only hear about the ending, not the messy middle.
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