desperate straits

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"I just feel that if somebody is really in desperate straits, I'm willing to give somebody a bed," she explains.

From BBC • Dec. 24, 2025

And now, they are happy to see him finally walking back through it, returning to health — and, they hope, form — at a time when their bullpen’s depth was in dire, desperate straits.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2024

Once that lifeline was withdrawn, five million children fell back into poverty almost overnight and the percentage of kids in desperate straits shot up to 12.4 percent.

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2024

White is already in desperate straits after 24.

From Washington Times • Nov. 15, 2022

Radio calls my teammate Stuart Hutchison had been monitoring from Rob Hall on the South Summit made clear that our leader was in desperate straits and that Doug Hansen was dead.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer