(~s, troubling, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
You can refer to problems or difficulties as ~.
I had ~ parking...
You’ve caused us a lot of ~...
The plane developed engine ~ soon after taking off...
The crew are in serious ~ in 50-knot winds and huge seas...
The Sullivans continued to have financial ~s.
N-UNCOUNT: oft in N, also N in pl
2.
If you say that one aspect of a situation is the ~, you mean that it is the aspect which is causing problems or making the situation unsatisfactory.
The ~ is that these restrictions have remained while other things have changed...
Your ~ is that you can’t take rejection.
= problem
N-SING: usu the N
3.
Your ~s are the things that you are worried about.
She kept her ~s to herself.
N-PLURAL: usu poss N
4.
If you have kidney ~ or back ~, for example, there is something wrong with your kidneys or your back.
Her husband had never before had any heart ~...
He began to have ~ with his right knee.
N-UNCOUNT: n N, N with n
5.
If there is ~ somewhere, especially in a public place, there is fighting or rioting there.
Riot police are being deployed throughout the city to prevent any ~...
...the first victim of the ~s in Northern Ireland.
N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl
6.
If you tell someone that it is no ~ to do something for them, you are saying politely that you can or will do it, because it is easy or convenient for you.
It’s no ~ at all; on the contrary, it will be a great pleasure to help you...
= bother
N-UNCOUNT: with brd-neg, oft N to-inf politeness
7.
If you say that a person or animal is no ~, you mean that they are very easy to look after.
My little grandson is no ~ at all, but his 6-year-old elder sister is rude and selfish.
N-UNCOUNT: with brd-neg
8.
If something ~s you, it makes you feel rather worried.
Is anything troubling you?...
He was ~d by the lifestyle of his son.
VERB: V n, V n
troubling
But most troubling of all was the simple fact that nobody knew what was going on.
ADJ
9.
If a part of your body ~s you, it causes you physical pain or discomfort.
The ulcer had been troubling her for several years.
VERB: V n
10.
If you say that someone does not ~ to do something, you are critical of them because they do not behave in the way that they should do, and you think that this would require very little effort.
He yawns, not troubling to cover his mouth...
He hadn’t ~d himself to check his mirrors...
VERB: with brd-neg, V to-inf, V pron-refl to-inf disapproval
11.
You use ~ in expressions such as I’m sorry to ~ you when you are apologizing to someone for disturbing them in order to ask them something.
I’m sorry to ~ you, but I wondered if by any chance you know where he is...
= bother
VERB formulae
12.
If someone is in ~, they are in a situation in which a person in authority is angry with them or is likely to punish them because they have done something wrong.
He was in ~ with his teachers...
PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, PHR after v
13.
If you take the ~ to do something, you do something which requires a small amount of additional effort.
He did not take the ~ to see the film before he attacked it.
PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR to-inf, oft with brd-neg
14.
If you say that someone or something is more ~ than they are worth, you mean that they cause you a lot of problems or take a lot of time and effort and you do not achieve or gain very much in return.
Some grumbled that Johnson was more ~ than he was worth...
PHRASE: V inflects, v-link PHR