tough
Americanadjective
-
strong and durable; not easily broken or cut.
- Antonyms:
- fragile
-
not brittle or tender.
-
difficult to masticate, as food.
a tough steak.
-
of viscous consistency, as liquid or semiliquid matter.
tough molasses.
-
capable of great endurance; sturdy; hardy.
tough troops.
- Synonyms:
- durable
-
not easily influenced, as a person; unyielding; stubborn.
a tough man to work for.
- Synonyms:
- inflexible
-
hardened; incorrigible.
a tough criminal.
-
difficult to perform, accomplish, or deal with; hard, trying, or troublesome.
a tough problem.
-
hard to bear or endure (often used ironically).
tough luck.
-
vigorous; severe; violent.
a tough struggle.
-
vicious; rough; rowdyish.
a tough character;
a tough neighborhood.
-
practical, realistic, and lacking in sentimentality; tough-minded.
-
Slang. remarkably excellent; first-rate; great.
adverb
noun
idioms
-
hang tough, hang.
-
tough it out, to endure or resist hardship or adversity.
adjective
-
strong or resilient; durable
a tough material
-
not tender
he could not eat the tough steak
-
having a great capacity for endurance; hardy and fit
a tough mountaineer
-
rough or pugnacious
a tough gangster
-
resolute or intractable
a tough employer
-
difficult or troublesome to do or deal with
a tough problem
-
informal unfortunate or unlucky
it's tough on him
noun
adverb
-
informal violently, aggressively, or intractably
to treat someone tough
-
informal to be or appear to be strong or determined
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
toughnessnoun
-
untoughnessnoun
-
supertoughadjective
-
toughishadjective
-
untoughadjective
-
toughlyadverb
-
untoughlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of tough
First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective); Old English tōh; compare Dutch taai, German zäh(e)
Explanation
The adjective tough is good for describing hard times. If you just got mugged, lost your job, got the flu, and broke your toe, you're having a really tough week. Tough means "strong, hard, unbending," and you can use it to describe many different things, like a tough exam, or a tough piece of beef jerky, or a tough day that you just want to be over. If a judge punishes criminals harshly to set examples, she's "tough on crime." We call people toughs if they seem likely to beat you up. Tough things are made to withstand a beating, like the tires on your mountain bike. Pronounce: TUFF.
Vocabulary lists containing tough
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Welsh dancer said she was able to regain her confidence after receiving some "tough love" and "motivation" from Gu and her husband Ben Jones.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
French President Emmanuel Macron, on a visit late Monday to a crisis centre in Bordeaux, that is threatened by a giant wildfire, said: "The coming weeks will be tough and we have to hold out."
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
We wanted a tough energy, we wanted dragon energy in this song.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Rising yields can make for a tough lending environment, but regional banks are evolving into something more like their Wall Street peers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
When things are tough, what kinds of things get you through the tough times?
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Like the cops, crooks and gangland toughs who populate his books, Don Winslow has something of a street fighter’s mentality.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
The entrepreneur, who for security reasons asked that neither he nor the specific nature of his business be identified, initially thought the calls were coming from neighborhood toughs pretending to have links to crime groups.
From Reuters ● Oct. 29, 2022
There’s nothing zany about “Harlem Shuffle,” but Whitehead has cast this novel with toughs like Chet the Vet, who flashes gold canines, and Miami Joe, who wears a high-waisted purple suit.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 13, 2021
“Rude Boy,” about the booming generation of young toughs running the streets of Kingston, has since become shorthand for a ska fan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2021
At 8:30 p.m., a group of white toughs met up on a street corner.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
"I think in the festival business in the UK... we've a lot more festivals than any country, I think per head of population, so it is tougher to survive."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Despite the disruptions, the government introduced legislation in the lower house seeking tougher penalties for examination paper leaks.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Laid-off tech workers say it is getting tougher to find their next job.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
However, unlike in 2023 and earlier this year, it’s been tougher to quickly dislodge 5% 30-year Treasury yields once they hit, as the below chart shows.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
But even men far tougher and more attuned to the wilderness than Thoreau were sobered by its strange and palpable menace.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Writing on social media, Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf MS Parry-Jones said threats of violence against politicians were a "direct attack on democracy and needs the toughest response".
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
And new data reveals the toughest markets where homeowners are finding it hard to sell their house.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
As Mexico’s team prepares to take on England on Sunday night, a match that many predict will be the toughest yet for El Tri, authorities nationwide are vowing to strengthen safety protocols.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
May's sanctions on brokers are the toughest measures taken by officials in years to plug loopholes that people long used to bypass capital controls.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
For instance I bet if I asked you, “What is the toughest stuff on Earth?” you’d say, “Diamonds.”
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
