dire straits

[ dahyuhr streyts ]

plural noun

1. very difficult circumstances:

   With inflation so high, I've been talking to many more people lately who are in dire straits.

   Once facing dire straits, the theater has bounced back since producing this hit show.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dire straits¹

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

While she works part-time as a realtor - a job she said "leaves no money" - and 16-hours-a-week at an airline, she said that the combined costs of taking care of the children, rent and high prices have left her in dire straits.

From BBC

The plan to close stores was announced as part of the company’s release of its fourth-quarter and end-of-year financial reports, which underscored its dire straits.

From Los Angeles Times

It took over the world, and it even saved New York in my mind because New York was really in dire straits talking about bankruptcy.

From Salon

Medical staff had particular praise for mothers who brought their infants and toddlers to be vaccinated, even if travel was difficult and dangerous or if their families were in dire straits — displaced from bombed-out homes, coping with the death or injury of loved ones, struggling to obtain the most basic necessities like food and drinking water.

From Los Angeles Times

“Offering false hope to those in dire straits for one’s own financial gain is contrary to a lawyer’s responsibilities,” Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona, the bar’s top prosecutor, said in a statement in response to the charges.

From Los Angeles Times