tough
strong and durable; not easily broken or cut.
not brittle or tender.
difficult to masticate, as food: a tough steak.
of viscous consistency, as liquid or semiliquid matter: tough molasses.
capable of great endurance; sturdy; hardy: tough troops.
not easily influenced, as a person; unyielding; stubborn: a tough man to work for.
hardened; incorrigible: a tough criminal.
difficult to perform, accomplish, or deal with; hard, trying, or troublesome: a tough problem.
hard to bear or endure (often used ironically): tough luck.
vigorous; severe; violent: a tough struggle.
vicious; rough; rowdyish: a tough character;a tough neighborhood.
practical, realistic, and lacking in sentimentality; tough-minded.
Slang. remarkably excellent; first-rate; great.
in a tough manner.
a ruffian; rowdy.
Idioms about tough
hang tough, Slang. hang (def. 62).
tough it out, Informal. to endure or resist hardship or adversity.
Origin of tough
1Other words for tough
Opposites for tough
Other words from tough
- toughly, adverb
- toughness, noun
- su·per·tough, adjective
- un·tough, adjective
- un·tough·ly, adverb
- un·tough·ness, noun
Words Nearby tough
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use tough in a sentence
Our last game we were coming off Lewis & Clark, and that was a tough game.
For this college football team, covid means the season starts in February — with Senior Day | Glynn A. Hill | February 11, 2021 | Washington PostThis is a way for animals to break down tough plant material like grass.
He spent the entire ride explaining how he was tough on the gloves while he skied but rewaterproofed them as often as once a week during the season.
If not, gathering about 14,000 signatures in 120 days will be very tough.
Morning Report: The Deal With the Jen Campbell Recall | Voice of San Diego | February 9, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoI learned some very tough lessons during some very tough times.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace on the Capitol insurrection: ‘We need to rebuild our party’ | KK Ottesen | February 9, 2021 | Washington Post
His flesh is sagging a bit, but he is still trim and looks lean, sinewy and tough.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST“You ask me my motivation,” Marvin says, moving back into his tough guy persona again.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAfter a bunch of tough talk, this round of the hacker-on-hacker fight nevered materialized.
Although tough environmental controls were put in place in 2000, enforcement has been haphazard.
It was also an occasion for voluptuary displays of tough-mindedness.
But this paper was a very tough, fibrous substance, and would resist quite a heavy blow as well as keep out the cold.
Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. Pike"tough—but most of us have been there, one time or another," Goodell observed sympathetically; and with that the subject rested.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairYou know that I come of tough fiber—of that old Creole race of Pontelliers that dry up and finally blow away.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinAnother tough-looking man ran out of the building and jumped into the red car.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. MatthewsBut it was tough on Clip to run into a relative and find him passing smoke-signals along for that prince of rascals, Dangerfield.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. Matthews
British Dictionary definitions for tough
/ (tʌf) /
strong or resilient; durable: a tough material
not tender: he could not eat the tough steak
having a great capacity for endurance; hardy and fit: a tough mountaineer
rough or pugnacious: a tough gangster
resolute or intractable: a tough employer
difficult or troublesome to do or deal with: a tough problem
informal unfortunate or unlucky: it's tough on him
a rough, vicious, or pugnacious person
informal violently, aggressively, or intractably: to treat someone tough
hang tough informal to be or appear to be strong or determined
(tr) slang to stand firm, hold out against (a difficulty or difficult situation) (esp in tough it out)
Origin of tough
1Derived forms of tough
- toughish, adjective
- toughly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with tough
In addition to the idioms beginning with tough
- tough break
- tough it out
- tough nut
- tough row to hoe
- tough sledding
also see:
- get tough
- gut (tough) it out
- hang tough
- hard (tough) act to follow
- hard (tough) nut to crack
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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