enough

American  

[ih-nuhf] / ɪˈnʌf /

adjective

1. adequate for the want or need; sufficient for the purpose or to satisfy desire.

   enough water;

   noise enough to wake the dead.

   Synonyms:

   ample

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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.

   Synonyms:

   reasonably, amply, adequately

2. fully or quite.

   ready enough.

interjection

1. (used to express impatience or exasperation).

   Enough! I heard you the first time.

enough British  

/ ɪˈnʌf /

determiner

1. 1. sufficient to answer a need, demand, supposition, or requirement; adequate

      enough cake

   2. ( as pronoun )

      enough is now known

2. that will do: used to put an end to an action, speech, performance, etc

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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

3. (intensifier)

   oddly enough

   surprisingly enough

4. just adequately; tolerably

   he did it well enough

enough Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing enough

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

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Usage

What is a basic definition of enough? Enough is an adjective that describes something that is adequate for an intended purpose. Enough is also used as an adverb to mean sufficiently or fully. Enough also has senses as a pronoun and an interjection. Enough describes something as being adequate or sufficient. If you have enough of something, you have at least met the minimum requirement.

• Real-life examples: If you have enough money to buy food, you won’t run out of money when you purchase it, though you might not have a lot of money left afterwards. If you have enough points to pass a test, you won’t fail the test but you won’t get an A, either.
• Used in a sentence: We had 15 people show up, enough to form our basketball team.

As an adverb, enough means in a degree that is satisfactory. This sense is often used in the negative to mean something failed to meet expectations or was insufficient.

• Real-life examples: If your boss doesn’t think you work hard enough, they may fire you. If you practice the violin enough, you may become better at playing it.
• Used in a sentence: The door was just wide enough to fit the couch through it. 

Enough is also used to mean fully, quite, or plenty. This sense is used to describe a situation where something has met the maximum requirement and anything more is unnecessary. This sense is not used in the negative.

• Real-life examples: If you can pay all your bills and go on vacation, you can say you earn enough. You know you’ve studied enough when you can answer all the practice questions correctly.
• Used in a sentence: She decided the dog had eaten enough and took the food bowl away.

Etymology

Origin of enough

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”

Explanation

When there's enough of something, you don't need or want anymore. When there's not enough, there's too little. If someone fills your glass almost to the top, that's enough. If you ate one slice of pizza but are still hungry, you haven't had enough. Although enough has to do with the amount of something, it isn't precise like a number. When someone is annoyed — like with a barking dog — they might say "That's enough!" When you've had enough, you've had as much as you want.

Example Sentences

Fortunately, we saw enough to sharpen up a list of favorites.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

Elma says that Charmain felt strongly enough to leave her son behind and fly to Ghana to try to "get to the root of things".

From BBC • May 22, 2026

One gigawatt-hour is enough electricity to power about 90 average U.S. homes for a year.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Why lock up deodorant when a company could use that cash to pay their employees enough to stop living paycheck-to-paycheck?

From Salon • May 22, 2026

Mama was always cooking up nourishing broths and porridges for forgotten old men and pale young mothers—on days, that is, when she herself was strong enough to stand at the stove.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• abundant
• adequate
• ample
• full
• sufficient
• suitable