Definition of "hard-won"

hard-won

adjective
comparative harder-won or more hard-won, superlative hardest-won or most hard-won
1. Having been obtained with effort, despite difficulty and hardship.
  Quotations
  with those decades of life come many hard-won lessons, and at this stage of the game, McCartney’s not above preaching a bit.
  2020 November 9, Gwen Ihnat, “With McCartney III, Paul McCartney offers lessons from a legendary life”, in The A.V. Club
  The League of Nations, meanwhile, suffered a credibility gap as the United States never joined the organisation that its President argued was essential for preserving the hard-won peace.
  2021 September 22, Stephen Roberts, “The writings on the wall...”, in RAIL, number 940, page 72