Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for tough on Thesaurus.com adjective, tough·er, tough·est. strong and durable; not easily broken or cut. 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. not easily influenced, as a person; unyielding; stubborn: a tough man to work for. 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. Show More
hang tough , Slang hang(def 56) .tough it out , Informal to endure or resist hardship or adversity. Show More
Origin of tough before 900; Middle English (adj.); Old English tōh; compare Dutch taai, German zäh(e )
Related forms tough·ly , adverb tough·ness , noun su·per·tough , adjective un·tough , adjective un·tough·ly , adverb un·tough·ness , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for toughest tenacious ,
vigorous ,
stiff ,
solid ,
hard ,
tight ,
resilient ,
healthy ,
harsh ,
resolute ,
terrible ,
strict ,
severe ,
desperate ,
stern ,
fierce ,
narrow ,
hard-nosed ,
troublesome ,
arduous Examples from the Web for toughest Contemporary Examples of toughest Here are the places where the company is fighting its toughest challenges to its services as well as its reputation.
By the end of the night, even the toughest guys are having the greatest time.
Stand-up comedian Adam Newman encountered one of the toughest rooms any comic could work over the weekend.
Good luck getting in, this may prove to be the toughest seat in Dallas restaurant history.
The toughest call here is, of course, exactly what help to provide.
Historical Examples of toughest The toughest part of it is that you got the job for me—and I had to fall down.
Okay, Chief, said Carter, though he knew this would be the toughest job yet.
Telling you—next to telling Nellie—was the toughest job I ever tackled.
It'll be the toughest sleddin' that we ever went up against.
It was a tough night outside, one of the toughest for years.
British Dictionary definitions for toughest 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 Show More
a rough, vicious, or pugnacious person Show More
informal violently, aggressively, or intractably to treat someone tough hang tough informal to be or appear to be strong or determined Show More
(tr) slang to stand firm, hold out against (a difficulty or difficult situation) (esp in tough it out ) Show More
Derived Forms toughish , adjective toughly , adverb Word Origin for tough Old English tōh; related to Old High German zāhi tough, Old Norse tā trodden ground in front of a house
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for toughest adj. Old English toh "difficult to break or chew," from Proto-Germanic *tankhuz (cf. Middle Low German tege , Middle Dutch taey , Dutch taai , Old High German zach , German zäh ). See rough for spelling change.
Figurative sense of "strenuous, difficult, hard to beat" is first recorded c.1200; that of "hard to do, trying, laborious" is from 1610s. Verb tough it "endure the experience" is first recorded 1830, American English. Tough guy first recorded 1932. Tough-minded first recorded 1907 in William James. Tough luck first recorded 1912; tough shit is from 1946.
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n. "street ruffian," 1866, American English, from tough (adj.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with toughest In addition to the idioms beginning with tough
tough break tough it out tough nut tough row to hoe tough sledding also see:
get tough gut (tough) it out hang tough hard (tough) act to follow hard (tough) nut to crack Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
