tough
Americanadjective
-
tougher,
comparative
-
toughest
superlative
-
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
-
toughs
plural
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:
It’s a tough time to be a P/E evangelist on social media.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
It’s tough because as a young adult, I was always pretty much an insomniac.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
"The King is not just King for the easy parts of the job, but the tough parts of the job, too," said the aide.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
It’s a capability that Mercedes says could draw customers in an increasingly tough market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
She was too tough, too strong, too in control to let something like this happen.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
He’s a guy that toughs it out with a smile on his face, and that smile is very disarming to someone else.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2023
“Do your feet a favor,” he tells the toughs.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2023
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
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
But investors are increasingly concerned that tougher regulations will make it harder for AI firms to make money off their massive investments.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
And the bond market is asking tougher questions about the costs of AI financing.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
There have been tougher visa requirements for international students coming to UK universities in recent years.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
“Folks are becoming more discerning about which participants are winners and losers, and asking tougher questions,” said Dave Olsen, president of Jump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Graphorn hide is even tougher than a dragon’s and repels most spells.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
Speaking in October, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius said the company would overhaul its China strategy, adding that giving up on the world's toughest but largest market was not an option.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
Zillow Z 9.43%increase; up pointing triangle reported a decline in traffic to its apps and sites in the midst of what it called “one of the toughest housing markets in a generation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
Two years later, momentum swung again, as the union helped persuade California Gov. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. to impose the toughest farm labor regulations in the nation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
From Batman masks to offline maps, young Indian protesters have responded to one of New Delhi's toughest security crackdowns with improvised tactics designed to evade surveillance and keep demonstrations alive.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
“You’re right, Fig. I’m the toughest, strongest, most indestructible element ever, and I’ve got work to do.”
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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