tough
Americanadjective
-
tougher,
comparative
-
toughest
superlative
-
strong and durable; not easily broken or cut.
- Antonyms:
- fragile
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- durable
-
not easily influenced, as a person; unyielding; stubborn.
a tough man to work for.
- Synonyms:
- inflexible
-
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.
adverb
noun
-
toughs
plural
idioms
-
hang tough, hang.
-
tough it out, to endure or resist hardship or adversity.
adjective
-
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
noun
adverb
-
informal violently, aggressively, or intractably
to treat someone tough
-
informal to be or appear to be strong or determined
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
toughnessnoun
-
untoughnessnoun
-
supertoughadjective
-
toughishadjective
-
untoughadjective
-
toughlyadverb
-
untoughlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of tough
First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective); Old English tōh; compare Dutch taai, German zäh(e)
Explanation
The adjective tough is good for describing hard times. If you just got mugged, lost your job, got the flu, and broke your toe, you're having a really tough week. Tough means "strong, hard, unbending," and you can use it to describe many different things, like a tough exam, or a tough piece of beef jerky, or a tough day that you just want to be over. If a judge punishes criminals harshly to set examples, she's "tough on crime." We call people toughs if they seem likely to beat you up. Tough things are made to withstand a beating, like the tires on your mountain bike. Pronounce: TUFF.
Vocabulary lists containing tough
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.
See Examples For:
Lorna Beatrice Lombardini, 26, from Cardiff Bay, said it was tough being a student during the winter months.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2026
“You don’t know what you don’t know,” said Adams, who added that he wishes the organizations that exist to help out veterans in tough situations were more widely known.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2026
LOYOLA: Returnees Omari Cuffe and Mattai Carter will help the Cubs stay relevant in a tough Mission League.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
“That’s going to be a tough lesson when they get into the real world and realize it doesn’t work that way.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026
If it hurt as bad as all that, Sue was one tough cookie.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Like the cops, crooks and gangland toughs who populate his books, Don Winslow has something of a street fighter’s mentality.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
He’s a guy that toughs it out with a smile on his face, and that smile is very disarming to someone else.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2023
The entrepreneur, who for security reasons asked that neither he nor the specific nature of his business be identified, initially thought the calls were coming from neighborhood toughs pretending to have links to crime groups.
From Reuters ● Oct. 29, 2022
Farmers, artisans, laborers, and even dockside toughs fought back with more demonstrations, hangings in effigy, and rounds of angry speeches fortified with strong drink and stronger language.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
The officers turned around and saw the toughs moving toward their group of six.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Wales remain fifth in the northern hemisphere table but face much tougher challenges this month.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Pushing it through the teeth of the City Hall grinder without the wholesale shredding of good intentions is a tougher trick.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026
One was better-than-feared messaging from Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, who had promised a tougher approach to data-center regulation while campaigning.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
French authorities have taken a tougher stance against extremist groups on both the left and the right in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Worse, the terrain is becoming even tougher as we get closer and closer to the maze of boulders.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
Two years later, momentum swung again, as the union helped persuade California Gov. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. to impose the toughest farm labor regulations in the nation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Israel’s longest-serving leader, Netanyahu has been prime minister off and on for some 19 years since 1996 and faces what may be the toughest fight of his political career.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
There are reasons to postpone some of the toughest decisions beyond this Budget, such as how to fund desired increases in spending on defence and social care.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
The Channel League champions next face their toughest test since being blanked by JSerra on Aug. 15.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
For instance I bet if I asked you, “What is the toughest stuff on Earth?” you’d say, “Diamonds.”
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
