tuff¹

[tuhf]

See more synonyms for tuff on Thesaurus.com

adjective Slang.

tough(def 13).

tuff²

[tuhf]

noun Geology.

a fragmental rock consisting of the smaller kinds of volcanic detritus, as ash or cinder, usually more or less stratified.

Origin of tuff²

1560–70; < French tuf < Italian tufo. See tufa

Also called volcanic tuff.

Related formstuff·a·ceous

[tuh-fey-shuh s] /tʌˈfeɪ ʃəs/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tuff

Contemporary Examples

All of them, Tuff and Kellie and Clyde and Elsie, like to take this wherever they go: He died doing what he wanted to do.
The Death of a Rodeo Cowboy
Peter Richmond
May 11, 2014
“This is all we live for,” Tuff Hedeman was saying on the Astrodome floor, far removed from Willie and his friends.
The Death of a Rodeo Cowboy
Peter Richmond
May 11, 2014
Tuff and Tracie and Kellie lost count of the hours they spent waiting on Lane after the rodeos.
The Death of a Rodeo Cowboy
Peter Richmond
May 11, 2014
Like her last name would suggest, Tuff really has been through a lot.
The Woman Who Stopped a School Shooting
Caitlin Dickson
January 22, 2014
Tuff cared for Derrick and his older sister, LaVita, while working two or three jobs at a time.
The Woman Who Stopped a School Shooting
Caitlin Dickson
January 22, 2014

Historical Examples

Tuff's coat was a heavy blue one that did for an overcoat, too.
Tin-Types Taken in the Streets of New York
Lemuel Ely Quigg
Eocene, miocene, pliocene Tuff, Lias and Trias and that is enough.
The Book of Humorous Verse
Various
Some are of lava, others consist of ashes, still others of tuff and lava and ashes.
The Andes of Southern Peru
Isaiah Bowman
On one side of the fountain a semicircular bench of tuff and terracotta.
Mogens and Other Stories
Jens Peter Jacobsen
That tuff he considers a product of the latest eruption of the volcano.
The Geological Evidence of The Antiquity of Man
Charles Lyell

British Dictionary definitions for tuff

tuff

noun

a rock formed by the fusing together on the ground of small rock fragments (less than 2 mm across) ejected from a volcano

Derived Formstuffaceous (tʌˈfeɪʃəs), adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Old French tuf, from Italian tufo; see tufa

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 tuff

adj.

advertiser's spelling of tough (adj.), attested by 1940.

tuff in Science

tuff

[tŭf]

A rock made up of particles of volcanic ash, varying in size from fine sand to coarse gravel.

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tuff2

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Examples from the Web for tuff

Contemporary Examples

All of them, Tuff and Kellie and Clyde and Elsie, like to take this wherever they go: He died doing what he wanted to do.

“This is all we live for,” Tuff Hedeman was saying on the Astrodome floor, far removed from Willie and his friends.

Tuff and Tracie and Kellie lost count of the hours they spent waiting on Lane after the rodeos.

Like her last name would suggest, Tuff really has been through a lot.

Tuff cared for Derrick and his older sister, LaVita, while working two or three jobs at a time.

Historical Examples

Tuff's coat was a heavy blue one that did for an overcoat, too.

Eocene, miocene, pliocene Tuff, Lias and Trias and that is enough.

Some are of lava, others consist of ashes, still others of tuff and lava and ashes.

On one side of the fountain a semicircular bench of tuff and terracotta.

That tuff he considers a product of the latest eruption of the volcano.

tuff

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for tuff

adj.

tuff

tuff¹

tuff²

Origin of tuff²