problem
/ˈprɒbləm
/noun
1A matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome: they have financial problems the problem of ageism in Hollywood...
- This is a good time to deal with earthy details, practical matters and health problems.
- However, you do clearly have a problem dealing with stressful situations.
- Workers have already been forced to look for other jobs due to financial and family problems.
Synonyms
difficulty, issue, trouble, worry, complication, difficult situation, mess, muddle, mix-up;
snag, hitch, drawback, stumbling block, obstacle, hurdle, hiccup, setback, catch;
catch-22, vexed question, quandary, the rub;
predicament, plight, can of worms, hornets' nest, Gordian knot;
misfortune, mishap, misadventure
informal dilemma, headache, prob, hassle, pickle, fix, tight spot, fly in the ointment, how-do-you-do, job, gremlin, facer
North American informal katzenjammer
rare nodus
nuisance, source of difficulty, bother, pest, source of trouble, irritant, thorn in one's side/flesh, vexation
informal drag, pain, pain in the neck
Australian informal fair cow
vulgar slang pain in the arse
1.1A thing that is difficult to achieve: motivation of staff can also be a problem...
- Manpower shortages and recruitment problems are creating serious difficulties in many areas of medicine.
- Searching for people is one of the most difficult problems for search engines.
- Climbing over the railings and down the steps was not a difficult problem.
1.2 [as modifier] Denoting or relating to people whose behaviour causes difficulties to themselves and others: practitioners help families develop strategies for managing problem behaviour in teens a problem family...
- Among teenagers, however, many of the problem behaviors, such as general delinquency and drug use, occur only because an opportunity to indulge occurs, and because peers provide a means of learning.
- Investigators obtained court approval to evict the residents, a measure they said has proven effective in ending problem behaviour.
- Police and council officers have pledged to do even more to curb problem behaviour and will use new powers to help them.
2 Physics & Mathematics An inquiry starting from given conditions to investigate or demonstrate a fact, result, or law.Under his influence Dirac worked on some problems in statistical mechanics....
- The conditions of many problems are stated carelessly and drawings are completely lacking.
- In fact the specific problem which he set out to solve was to find two mean proportionals between two straight lines.
2.1 Geometry A proposition in which something has to be constructed. Compare with theorem.Book One discusses his laws of motion then proceeds to a series of propositions, theorems and problems....
- This work attempted to solve the problem of constructing a line of the same length as an arc of a circle.
- Problems in geometry whose solutions he had shown privately to colleagues were detailed in the book
2.2(In chess) an arrangement of pieces in which the solver has to achieve a specified result.He then gave five problems involving the chess board as set up at the start of a game....
- Henry learnt to play chess at a young age and soon became interested in chess problems.
- The problem is White to play and mate in two moves against any Black defence.
Phrases
have a problem with
no problem
that's your (or his, her, etc.) problem
Origin
Late Middle English (originally denoting a riddle or a question for academic discussion): from Old French probleme, via Latin from Greek problēma, from proballein 'put forth', from pro 'before' + ballein 'to throw'.
A problem was initially a riddle or puzzle, or a question put forward for academic discussion. ‘Put forward’ are the key words here, as the ancestor of the English word is the Greek verb proballein, ‘to throw out or put forth’. This Greek word is based on pro ‘forward’ and ballein ‘to throw’, also the source of ballistic.