trouble

Definition

A distressing or dangerous situation.

Etymology

Verb is from Middle English troublen, trouble, 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 trouble, troble, from Old French troble, from the verb.

Example Sentences

• "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."