rough it

Idioms  

1. Do without the usual comforts and conveniences, as in We spent our vacation roughing it in a log cabin. This idiom was first recorded in 1768. Mark Twain used it as the title of an account of his experiences in Nevada (Roughing It, 1872).

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Example Sentences

"You can imagine, if the walls of the pipe are very rough, it's going to slow things down. And so measuring how rough the walls are and which walls are good and which walls are bad is now even more important."

From Science Daily

"If we have to rough it, we will."

From BBC

"The seas are very rough. It's pitch black. We're using flashlights to communicate. This is very scary, lots of things can go wrong."

From BBC

In September 2025, the charity worked with 176 people sleeping rough - it said this was the highest number of people it has ever recorded in one month.

From BBC

"That was rough... it is terrifying."

From BBC