enough

[ ih-nuhf ]
See synonyms for enough on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. adequate for the want or need; sufficient for the purpose or to satisfy desire: enough water;noise enough to wake the dead.

pronoun
  1. an adequate quantity or number; sufficiency.

adverb
  1. in a quantity or degree that answers a purpose or satisfies a need or desire; sufficiently.

  2. fully or quite: ready enough.

interjection
  1. (used to express impatience or exasperation): Enough! I heard you the first time.

Origin of enough

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English enogh, Old English genōh; cognate with German genug, Gothic ganohs, Old Norse nōgr; akin to Old English geneah “it suffices,” Sanskrit naśati “(he) reaches”

Other words for enough

Words Nearby enough

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use enough in a sentence

  • And although we gabbled freely enough, MacRae avoided all mention of the persons of whom I most wished to hear.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • The sailors sometimes use it to fry their meat, for want of butter, and find it agreeable enough.

  • Just corporeal enough to attest humanity, yet sufficiently transparent to let the celestial origin shine through.

    Pearls of Thought | Maturin M. Ballou
  • A distinguished-looking man, evidently vested with authority, bustled forward and addressed him, civilly enough.

    The Red Year | Louis Tracy
  • And sure enough when Sunday came, and the pencil was restored to him, he promptly showed nurse his picture.

    Children's Ways | James Sully

British Dictionary definitions for enough

enough

/ (ɪˈnʌf) /


determiner
    • sufficient to answer a need, demand, supposition, or requirement; adequate: enough cake

    • (as pronoun): enough is now known

  1. that's enough! that will do: used to put an end to an action, speech, performance, etc

adverb
  1. so as to be adequate or sufficient; as much as necessary: you have worked hard enough

  2. (not used with a negative) very or quite; rather: she was pleased enough to see me

  1. (intensifier): oddly enough; surprisingly enough

  2. just adequately; tolerably: he did it well enough

Origin of enough

1
Old English genōh; related to Old Norse gnōgr, Gothic ganōhs, Old High German ginuog

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 enough

enough

In addition to the idioms beginning with enough

  • enough is enough
  • enough rope, give someone
  • enough said
  • enough to sink a ship

also see:

  • fair enough
  • had enough
  • leave well enough alone
  • not enough room to swing a cat
  • sure enough
  • (enough) to wake the dead

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.