get tough on
idiomatic phrase
: to deal harshly with
Greece promised last week to get tough on tax evasion …—
Alan Clendenning
Alan ClendenningEnvironmental groups and health agencies such as the American Lung Association have pushed lawmakers to get tough on polluters and enact stricter smog limits …—Melissa Knopper
Melissa Knopper"… For a long time in the United States, the politics around law and order have been, get tough on crime. … "—Paul Butler
Paul ButlerExamples of get tough on in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The move to target Huawei hearkens back to the US push that began in earnest under President Donald Trump to get tough on China and companies like Huawei that American officials say could be used as a spying tool by the Chinese government.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune Asia, 3 July 2024
President Eisenhower’s decision to come to Chiang’s rescue in the nineteen-fifties, when Mao started shelling Matsu and Quemoy, had nothing to do with defending democracy (even though the Republic of China was still known as Free China) and everything to do with getting tough on Communism.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
These are some key issues being deliberated in secret:
How to get tough on crime:
Lawmakers have spent months crafting a package of bills to address retail theft and fentanyl addiction.
—Laurel Rosenhall, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024
Biden has retained many of Trump’s positions on China, and a bipartisan consensus has emerged in Washington that the United States must get tougher on its closest geopolitical peer.
—Zhou Bo, Foreign Affairs, 13 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for get tough on 
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune Asia, 3 July 2024
President Eisenhower’s decision to come to Chiang’s rescue in the nineteen-fifties, when Mao started shelling Matsu and Quemoy, had nothing to do with defending democracy (even though the Republic of China was still known as Free China) and everything to do with getting tough on Communism.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
These are some key issues being deliberated in secret:
How to get tough on crime:
Lawmakers have spent months crafting a package of bills to address retail theft and fentanyl addiction.
—Laurel Rosenhall, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024
Biden has retained many of Trump’s positions on China, and a bipartisan consensus has emerged in Washington that the United States must get tougher on its closest geopolitical peer.
—Zhou Bo, Foreign Affairs, 13 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for get tough on
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“Get tough on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%20tough%20on. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
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