capable of enduring fatigue, hardship, exposure, etc.; sturdy; strong.
hardy explorers of northern Canada.
(of plants) able to withstand the cold of winter in the open air.
requiring great physical courage, vigor, or endurance.
the hardiest sports.
bold or daring; courageous.
hardy soldiers.
unduly bold; presumptuous; foolhardy.
Godfrey Harold, 1877–1947, English mathematician.
Oliver, 1892–1957, U.S. motion-picture comedian.
Thomas, 1840–1928, English novelist and poet.
having or demanding a tough constitution; robust
bold; courageous
foolhardy; rash
(of plants) able to live out of doors throughout the winter
Oliver. See Laurel and Hardy
Thomas. 1840–1928, British novelist and poet. Most of his novels are set in his native Dorset (part of his fictional Wessex) and include Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895), after which his work consisted chiefly of verse
Sir Thomas Masterman. 1769–1839, British naval officer, flag captain under Nelson (1799–1805): 1st Sea Lord (1830)
1175–1225; Middle English hardi < Old French, past participle of *hardir to harden, make brave < Germanic; compare Gothic -hardjan, Old High German hartjan to harden
Hardy means tough––if you're hardy, you don't get tired easily and can endure hardship. People who don't catch cold often attribute this fact to their coming from hardy farming stock. Before 1200, hardy indicated boldness and daring in battle and was probably influenced by hard. Warriors are hardy: they’re brave and strong and don’t easily tire. Plants and animals can also be hardy if they can survive harsh weather or poor growing conditions. When planting a lawn, you should pick hardy species of grass, which will survive droughts and come back after long, cold winters.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Groups of all ages converged on the city centre to the sound of drums and guitars, with hardy pilgrims lugging rucksacks and camping material on their backs.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
For most hardy Labour delegates, defeat is not an unfamiliar feeling.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
After a comet devastates most of civilization in the first movie, Gerard Butler returns to lead an especially hardy family of survivors into a bold new future.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026
It is a small but hardy and nutritious wild potato that still grows across southwestern North America today, ranging from southern Utah and Colorado into northern Mexico.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 25, 2026
“All right, so, B. cepacia is a hardy bacterium. It’s so adaptive that it actually feeds on penicillin instead of being attacked by it. So our first line of defense is...”
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
After sound came in, full-length feature comedies—by Laurel and Hardy, Mae West, W.C.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Lesley McLean, leader of Cherwell District Council, has now written to the water and flooding minister, Emma Hardy, asking for a meeting to address the issue.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
"I hope Emma Hardy MP responds positively to my request for a meeting and can help bring about a comprehensive multi-agency response."
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
“He was one of the guys who wanted to protect his community,” his sister, Tianna Hardy, told me later.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
Also I think he hopes I will do some ratting on Monsieur Laurel and Mademoiselle Hardy.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
I asked Jennings to show me some of his favorite hardies.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 29, 2021
Softies and hardies have been fighting for as long as I can remember.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 4, 2013
Tulips bloom in February and March; Daffodils, German Iris, and other hardies from February to May; also Lilies-of-the-Valley, which latter are more scarce on account of the dryness of the atmosphere.
From Beautiful Gardens in America by Shelton, Louise
These conditions led to slow-growing tall trees with deeper rooting systems able to access the water, making them hardier in the face of drought, Chen said.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2024
The first Zebus arrived in Brazil in the latter half of the 19th century and they proved far hardier than European stock.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
Bugs that survive antibiotic exposure pass on their resistant traits, leading to hardier strains.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2024
At night, the carriers rested the Mazu statue in a temple, and hardier pilgrims slept in the temple or on the nearby streets. unrolling thin rubber mattresses.
From New York Times ● May 3, 2024
There were miles of pastures and tens of miles of wasted, washed-out land abandoned to the hardier weeds.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
There will always be those hardiest of Caddyshack souls prepared to battle 40mph winds and driving rain, bunting their ball down muddy fairways and putting across soaked greens.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026
Those who travel during the holidays are used to long trips, but only the hardiest would try a 1,900-mile van ride.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 25, 2024
Indeed, pesticides had been so effective at killing all but the hardiest of bed bugs that some Americans were surprised when they returned, starting in the early 2000s.
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2024
But this stagnant summer is testing even the hardiest, and putting many more people at risk.
From New York Times ● Jul. 18, 2023
But about the Gate resistance still was stout, and there the knights of Dol Amroth and the hardiest of the garrison stood at bay.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
