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 19-year-old will be tough to stop in the second half of the season.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Many believe their chances of ever buying a home are slim to none, and it can be tough for recent college graduates to break into today’s job market.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
But the retired Lebanese army general said it would be tough to replicate "in broader and more complex areas", particularly if Hezbollah sticks to its stance.
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
Honesty might be the best policy, thought Jeremy, but it's kind of tough when the truth is something no one will believe.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
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
Mr. Lee joined the police at age 19 after a childhood encounter with local street toughs instilled in him a sense of law and order, he once recounted.
From New York Times ● May 6, 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
Since there was no applause from Fern and me the first time around, she started up again, as zombielike as she could, to imitate the toughs standing around outside the pool hall.
From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia
"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
Wenner wanted a tougher piece than she was willing to write.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 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
It's like he felt tougher whenever he started blabbing about it, gassing his own head up, turning the story into a much bigger deal than it really was.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's carefully built image of invincibility is facing its toughest test yet, analysts say, after his government backed down in the face of youth-led protests over exam irregularities and jobs prospects.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Asked to comment, Freefly described its device as “the world’s toughest drone” but didn’t address specific questions about its potential use on Everest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Joshua has always spoken about legacy, and there would be something fitting about walking away after overcoming one of the toughest periods of his life and producing a dramatic comeback victory.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
And new data reveals the toughest markets where homeowners are finding it hard to sell their house.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
“You men,” he began, “now have the privilege of serving under the meanest, toughest, screamingest squadron commander in the Marine Corps.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
