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Webster 1913 Edition

Trouble

Trou′ble

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Troubled
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Troubling
.]
[F.
troubler
, OF.
trobler
,
trubler
,
tourbler
,fr. (assumed) LL.
turbulare
, L.
turbare
to disorderly group, a little crowd; both from
turba
a disorder, tumult, crowd; akin to Gr. [GREEK], and perhaps to E.
thorp
; cf. Skr.
tvar
,
tur
,o hasten. Cf.
Turbid
.]
1.
To put into confused motion; to disturb; to agitate.
An angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and
troubled
the water.
John v. 4.
God looking forth will
trouble
all his host.
Milton.
2.
To disturb; to perplex; to afflict; to distress; to grieve; to fret; to annoy; to vex.
Now is my soul
troubled
.
John xii. 27.
Take the boy to you; he so
troubles
me
’T is past enduring.
Shakespeare
Never
trouble
yourself about those faults which age will cure.
Locke.
3.
To give occasion for labor to; – used in polite phraseology;
as, I will not
trouble
you to deliver the letter
.
Syn. – To disturb; perplex; afflict; distress; grieve; harass; annoy; tease; vex; molest.

Trou′ble

,
Adj.
Troubled; dark; gloomy.
[Obs.]
“With full trouble cheer.”
Chaucer.

Trou′ble

,
Noun.
[F.
trouble
, OF.
troble
,
truble
. See
Trouble
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
The state of being troubled; disturbance; agitation; uneasiness; vexation; calamity.
Lest the fiend . . . some new
trouble raise
.
Milton.
Foul whisperings are abroad; unnatural deeds
Do breed unnatural
troubles
.
Shakespeare
2.
That which gives disturbance, annoyance, or vexation; that which afflicts.
3.
(Mining)
A fault or interruption in a stratum.
To get into trouble
,
to get into difficulty or danger.
[Colloq.]
–
To take the trouble
,
to be at the pains; to exert one's self; to give one's self inconvenience.

She never
took the trouble
to close them.
Bryant.
Syn. – Affliction; disturbance; perplexity; annoyance; molestation; vexation; inconvenience; calamity; misfortune; adversity; embarrassment; anxiety; sorrow; misery.

Webster 1828 Edition

Trouble

TROUBLE

,
Verb.
T.
trub'l. [L. turbo; turba, a crowd, and perhaps trova, a turn. The primary sense is to turn or to stir, to whirl about, as in L. turbo, turbinis, a whirlwind. Hence the sense of agitation, disturbance.
1.
To agitate; to disturb; to put into confused motion.
God looking forth will trouble all his host.
An angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water. John 5.
2.
To disturb; to perplex.
Never trouble yourself about those faults which age will cure.
3.
To afflict; to grieve; to distress.
Those that trouble me, rejoice when I am moved. Ps.13.
4.
To busy; to cause to be much engaged or anxious.
Martha, thou art careful, and troubled about many things. Luke 10.
5.
To tease; to vex; to molest.
The boy so troubles me,
'Tis past enduring.
6.
To give occasion for labor to. I will not trouble you to deliver the letter. I will not trouble myself in this affair.
7.
To sue for a debt. He wishes not to trouble his debtors.

TROUBLE

,
Noun.
trub'l. Disturbance of mind; agitation; commotion of spirits; perplexity; a word of very extensive application.
1.
Affliction; calamity.
He shall deliver thee in six troubles. Job 5.
Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. Ps.25.
2.
Molestation; inconvenience; annoyance.
Lest the fiend some new trouble raise.
3.
Uneasiness; vexation.
4.
That which gives disturbance, annoyance or vexation; that which afflicts.

Definition 2024

trouble

trouble

See also: troublé

English

Noun

trouble ‎(countable and uncountable, plural troubles)

  1. A distressful or dangerous situation.
    He was in trouble when the rain started.‎
  2. A difficulty, problem, condition, or action contributing to such a situation.
    • John Milton
      Lest the fiend […] some new trouble raise.
    • William Shakespeare
      Foul whisperings are abroad; unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles.
    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.‎
  3. A violent occurrence or event.
    • 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. […]”
    the troubles in Northern Ireland‎
  4. Efforts taken or expended, typically beyond the normal required.
    It's no trouble for me to edit it.‎
  5. A malfunction.
    He's been in hospital with some heart trouble.   My old car has engine trouble.‎
  6. Liability to punishment; conflict with authority.
    He had some trouble with the law.‎
  7. (mining) A fault or interruption in a stratum.

Usage notes

  • Verbs often used with "trouble": make, spell, stir up, ask for, etc.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:difficult situation

Derived terms

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).
    • Bible, John v. 4
      An angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water.
    • Milton
      God looking forth will trouble all his host.
  2. (transitive) To mentally distress; to cause (someone) to be anxious or perplexed.
    • Bible, John xii. 27
      Now is my soul troubled.
    • Shakespeare
      Take the boy to you; he so troubles me / 'Tis past enduring.
    • John Locke
      Never trouble yourself about those faults which age will cure.
  3. (transitive) In weaker sense: to bother; to annoy, pester.
    Question 3 in the test is troubling me.
    I will not trouble you to deliver the letter.
  4. (reflexive or intransitive) To take pains to do something.
    • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.26:
      Why trouble about the future? It is wholly uncertain.

Translations

Related terms

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: chance · happened · broken · #642: trouble · die · arm · wrong

French

Pronunciation

Noun

trouble m ‎(plural troubles)

  1. trouble
  2. (medicine) disorder
    trouble bipolaire‎
    bipolar disorder

Verb

trouble

  1. first-person singular present indicative of troubler
  2. third-person singular present indicative of troubler
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of troubler
  4. third-person singular present subjunctive of troubler
  5. second-person singular imperative of troubler

Etymology

Verb is from Middle English troublen, trublen, turblen, troblen, from Old French troubler, trobler, trubler, metethetic variants of Old French tourbler, torbler, turbler, from Medieval Latin *turbulāre, 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

  • enPR: trŭbʹəl; IPA(key): /ʹtrʌbəl/, [ˈtʰɹʌbl̩]
  • Rhymes: -ʌbəl

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