trouble definition

English trouble definition

Etymology

Verb is from Middle English troublen, trublen, turblen, troblen, 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 truble, troble, from Old French troble, from the verb.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: trŭbʹəl; IPA^(key): /ˈtɹʌb(ə)l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹʌb(ə)l/, /ˈtɹə-/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌbəl
• Hyphenation: trou‧ble

Noun

trouble (countable and uncountable, plural troubles)

1. A distressing or dangerous situation.

   He was in trouble when the rain started.

2. A difficulty, problem, condition, or action contributing to such a situation.

   The trouble was a leaking brake line.
   The trouble with that suggestion is that we lack the funds to put it in motion.
   The bridge column magnified the trouble with a slight tilt in the wrong direction.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book XI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Lest the fiend […] some new trouble raise.

   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

     Foul whisperings are abroad; unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles.

3. A person liable to place others or themself in such a situation.
   • 2021, Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback (lyrics and music), “I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor's Version)”, in Red (Taylor's Version)‎^[1], performed by Taylor Swift:

     'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in
     So shame on me no-ow

4. A violent occurrence or event.

   the troubles in Northern Ireland

   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     “I don't know how you and the ‘head,’ as you call him, will get on, but I do know that if you call my duds a ‘livery’ again there'll be trouble. It's bad enough to go around togged out like a life saver on a drill day, but I can stand that 'cause I'm paid for it. What I won't stand is to have them togs called a livery. […]”

5. Efforts taken or expended, typically beyond the normal required.

   It's no trouble for me to edit it.

   • 1850, William Cullen Bryant, Letters of a Traveller:

     She never took the trouble to close them.

   • 1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:

     Indeed, by the report of our elders, this nervous preparation for old age is only trouble thrown away.

6. A malfunction.

   He's been in hospital with some heart trouble.   My old car has engine trouble.

7. Liability to punishment; conflict with authority.

   He had some trouble with the law.

8. (mining) A fault or interruption in a stratum.
9. (Cockney rhyming slang) Wife. Clipping of trouble and strife.
10. Children's slang for an adult's annoyance over a personal inadequacy or infraction.

    I'm telling the teacher and you're going to get in trouble for that

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:difficult situation

Derived terms

Collocations

Descendants

• Jersey Dutch: tröbel

Translations

See also

• Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take for uses and meaning of trouble collocated with these words.

Verb

trouble (third-person singular simple present troubles, present participle troubling, simple past and past participle troubled)

1. (transitive, now rare) To disturb, stir up, agitate (a medium, especially water).
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 5:4:

     For an Angel went downe at a certaine season into the poole, and troubled the water:

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, line 1100:

     God looking forth will trouble all his Hoſt

3. (transitive) To mentally distress; to cause (someone) to be anxious or perplexed.

   What she said about narcissism is troubling me.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 12:27:

     Now is my soule troubled, and what shall I say? Father, saue me from this houre, but for this cause came I vnto this houre.

   • c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 281, column 2:

     Take the Boy to you: he ſo troubles me, / 'Tis paſt enduring.

   • 1693, [John Locke], “§65”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC, page 68:

     Never trouble your ſelf about thoſe Faults in them, which you know Age will cure.

4. (transitive) In weaker sense: to bother or inconvenience.

   I will not trouble you to deliver the letter.

5. (reflexive or intransitive) To take pains to do something.

   I won't trouble to post the letter today; I can do it tomorrow.

6. (intransitive) To worry; to be anxious.
   • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.26:

     Why trouble about the future? It is wholly uncertain.

Derived terms

Related terms

• turbid
• turbulent

Descendants

• → Jersey Dutch: tröble

Translations

Further reading

• “trouble”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “trouble”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• -buterol, Boulter, boulter

French trouble definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʁubl/

• Audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

Deverbal from troubler or from Old French troble.

Noun

trouble m (plural troubles)

1. trouble
2. (medicine, psychiatry) disorder

Derived terms

(medicine, psychiatry):

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old French troble, probably from a Vulgar Latin *turbulus (with metathesis), itself perhaps an alteration of Latin turbidus with influence from turbulentus; cf. also turbula. Compare Catalan tèrbol, Romanian tulbure.

Adjective

trouble (plural troubles)

1. (of a liquid) murky, turbid, muddy, thick, clouded, cloudy; not clear

Derived terms

• pêcher en eau trouble

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

trouble

1. inflection of troubler:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “trouble”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.