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PlainSpell

hard

/hɑɹd/adjective, adverb, noun

hard is spelled H-A-R-D: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 339 times per million words in written English, the 274th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, hard means “Solid and firm” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in hard?

Letters4: H-A-R-D
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing339 times per million words; the 274th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is hard?

Hard appears 339 times per million words in written English, the 274th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce hard?

  • UK /hɑːd/
  • US /hɑɹd/

Hard has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hard.wav, En-us-hard.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with hard?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hard from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹd/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of hard

  • harder comparative
  • more hard comparative
  • hardest superlative
  • most hard superlative
  • hards plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • harding participle, present
  • harded participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does hard mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Solid and firm.

  2. 2

    Resistant to pressure; difficult to break, cut, or penetrate.

    This bread is so stale and hard, I can barely cut it.

  3. 3

    Strong.

  4. 4

    Containing alcohol.

    hard cider, hard lemonade, hard seltzer, hard soda

  5. 5

    Very acidic or tannic.

    While most 1974s remain hard, tannic, hollow wines lacking ripeness, flesh, and character, a number of the Graves estates did produce surprisingly spicy, interesting wines.

  6. 6

    High in dissolved chemical salts, especially those of calcium.

  7. 7

    Having the capability of being a permanent magnet by being a material with high magnetic coercivity (compare soft).

  8. 8

    Having a high energy (high frequency; short wavelength).

    hard X-rays

adverb

  1. 1

    With much force or effort.

    He hit the puck hard up the ice.

  2. 2

    With difficulty.

    His degree was hard earned.

  3. 3

    obsoleteSo as to raise difficulties.

  4. 4

    Compactly.

    The lake had finally frozen hard.

  5. 5

    archaicNear, close.

    At the intersection, bear hard left.

noun

  1. 1

    A firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water.

  2. 2

    A tyre whose compound is softer than superhards, and harder than mediums.

  3. 3

    slangCrack cocaine.

  4. 4

    slangHard labor.

    The prisoners were sentenced to three years' hard.

adjective

as HARD
  1. 1

    An acronym for remembering desirable characteristics for goal-setting: heartfelt, animated, required, difficult.

verb

  1. 1

    obsoleteTo make hard, harden.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate hard?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of hard: H.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Hard in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchdur (resistant to pressure), difficile (requiring a lot of effort to do or understand), irréfutable (unquestionable), durement (with much force or effort (related to act of…)
Germanhart, fest (resistant to pressure), schwierig, schwer, herausfordernd (requiring a lot of effort to do or understand)
Portugueseduro (resistant to pressure), difícil (requiring a lot of effort to do or understand), bem (with much force or effort (related to act of…), árduo, rigoroso (demanding a lot of effort to endure)
Spanishduro (resistant to pressure), difícil, tranca, costar (requiring a lot of effort to do or understand)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does hard come from?

From Middle English hard, from Old English heard, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī), from Proto-Germanic *harduz, from Proto-Indo-European *kort-ús, from *kret- (“strong, powerful”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after hard