Etimology
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.
noun
trouble (countable and uncountable, plural troubles)
A distressing or dangerous situation.
A difficulty, problem, condition, or action contributing to such a situation.
A person liable to place others or themselves in such a situation.
The state of being troubled, disturbed, or distressed mentally; unease, disquiet.
Objectionable feature of something or someone; problem, drawback.
Violent or turbulent occurrence or event; unrest, disturbance.
Efforts taken or expended, typically beyond the normal required.
Difficulty in doing something.
Health problems, ailment, generally of some particular part of the body.
A malfunction.
Liability to punishment; conflict with authority.
(mining) A fault or interruption in a stratum.
(Cockney rhyming slang) Wife. Clipping of trouble and strife.
(slang, dated) An unplanned, unwanted or undesired pregnancy.
Examples
He was in trouble when the rain started.
The trouble was a leaking brake line.
The bridge column magnified the trouble with a slight tilt in the wrong direction.
Lest the fiend […] some new trouble raise.
Foul whisperings are abroad; unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles.
’Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked inSo shame on me no-ow
Yet oft when sundown skirts the moorAn inner trouble I behold,A spectral doubt which makes me cold,That I shall be thy mate no more, […]
The trouble with that suggestion is that we lack the funds to put it in motion.
the troubles in Northern Ireland
“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. […] ”
It’s no trouble for me to edit it.
She never took the trouble to close them.
Indeed, by the report of our elders, this nervous preparation for old age is only trouble thrown away.
She has trouble eating.
He’s been in hospital with some heart trouble.
My old car has engine trouble.
He had some trouble with the law.
I never had schoolin’ but he taught me well / With his smooth southern style / Three months later I’m a gal in trouble / And I haven’t seen him for a while.
Related words
synonyms
See also Thesaurus:difficult situation
verb
trouble (third-person singular simple present troubles, present participle troubling, simple past and past participle troubled)
(transitive, now rare) To disturb, stir up, agitate (a medium, especially water).
(transitive) To mentally distress; to cause (someone) to be anxious or perplexed.
(transitive) In weaker sense: to bother or inconvenience.
(transitive, of ailments, etc.) To physically afflict.
(reflexive or intransitive) To take pains to do something.
(intransitive) To worry; to be anxious.
Examples
For an Angel went downe at a certaine season into the poole, and troubled the water:
God looking forth will trouble all his Hoſt
What she said about narcissism is troubling me.
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.
Take the Boy to you: he ſo troubles me, / ’Tis paſt enduring.
Never trouble your ſelf about thoſe Faults in them, which you know Age will cure.
I will not trouble you to deliver the letter.
I won’t trouble to post the letter today; I can do it tomorrow.
Why trouble about the future? It is wholly uncertain.
Related words
related terms
turbid
turbulent