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”

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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

See Examples For:

enough

On balance, Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, reckons that gains from AI in areas like manufacturing aren’t enough to completely offset losses elsewhere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

A camera operator built a custom housing that kept his hands warm at –40 degrees Celsius while he maintained enough dexterity to fly a drone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

The trouble is that Wall Street may not have suffered enough.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

The unusually prolonged count reflects Mississippi's election procedures, which allow officials several days to process mail-in and provisional ballots -- potentially enough to decide the contest.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

Soon enough, she is carted off to the University of Santo Tomas in the heart of Manila.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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Related Words

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

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