tougher; toughest
1
: difficult to accomplish, resolve, endure, or deal with
a tough question
tough luck
2
: capable of enduring strain, hardship, or severe labor
tough soldiers
4
a
: strong or firm in texture but flexible and not brittle
b
: not easily chewed
tough meat
5
: characterized by severity or uncompromising determination
tough laws
tough discipline
see also get tough on
6
: very hard to influence : stubborn
a tough negotiator
7
: stubbornly fought
a tough contest
8
: marked by absence of softness or sentimentality
a tough critic
toughly
adverb
: in a tough manner (see tough entry 1)
talking tough
toughed; toughing; toughs
: to bear unflinchingly : endure
—usually used with out especially in the phrase tough it out
Examples of tough in a Sentence
Adjective
I have a tough constitution, and my profession taught me how to compete against long odds and big obstacles.
—
Lance Armstrong, It's Not About The Bike, (2000) 2001
… Pelletreau had firsthand experience in dealing with Israelis as well as with Arabs and had a reputation for being bold, analytical, and tough as nails.
—Robert D. Kaplan, The Arabists, 1993
… this wiry, tough, frenetic Algerian with the beneficent smile, who could vault over the bar and stiff-arm a drunk out into the night in less time than it takes to say Edgar Poe, and return, bland as butter, to take up where he left off …
—William Styron, "The Paris Review," August 1953,
in William Styron, This Quiet Dust And Other Writings, (1953) 1982
He had on the other hand to preserve his own reputation as a tough D.A. who dealt handily with the criminal classes.
—E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, (1974) 1975
She had a tough time in college.
Are you tough enough for the job?
He's been hanging around with a bunch of tough guys.
The rug is made of tough material.
Adverb
He talks tough but he's not really dangerous.
Noun
One night, after antagonizing a gang of older toughs, he had his face smashed in with a hockey stick.
—John Harris, Rolling Stone, 14 Nov. 2002
They weren't strong enough to fight Sankoh and his hopped-up young toughs, who number in the thousands.
—Tom Masland et al., Newsweek, 15 May 2000
The subways provided fine service, except that lately there had been a problem. Packs of young toughs had taken to roaming the cars.
—Tom Wolf, Harper's, November 1989
didn't want her son hanging out with the neighborhood toughs
Verb
Summer in New York is coasting the dairy aisle at Safeway. … It's finding the spot in a subway car where the vent blows strongest and staying there past your stop, toughing it out when the "excuse me, ladies and gentlemen" hard-luck stories blow through.
—Guy Trebay, Village Voice, 30 July 1991
… they were toughing it out with the help of the greatest ally a macho young cop ever had, booze.
—Joseph Wambaugh, Lines and Shadows, 1984
Lance Armstrong, It's Not About The Bike, (2000) 2001
… Pelletreau had firsthand experience in dealing with Israelis as well as with Arabs and had a reputation for being bold, analytical, and tough as nails.
—Robert D. Kaplan, The Arabists, 1993
… this wiry, tough, frenetic Algerian with the beneficent smile, who could vault over the bar and stiff-arm a drunk out into the night in less time than it takes to say Edgar Poe, and return, bland as butter, to take up where he left off …
—William Styron, "The Paris Review," August 1953,
in William Styron, This Quiet Dust And Other Writings, (1953) 1982
He had on the other hand to preserve his own reputation as a tough D.A. who dealt handily with the criminal classes.
—E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, (1974) 1975
She had a tough time in college.
Are you tough enough for the job?
He's been hanging around with a bunch of tough guys.
The rug is made of tough material.
Adverb
He talks tough but he's not really dangerous.
Noun
One night, after antagonizing a gang of older toughs, he had his face smashed in with a hockey stick.
—John Harris, Rolling Stone, 14 Nov. 2002
They weren't strong enough to fight Sankoh and his hopped-up young toughs, who number in the thousands.
—Tom Masland et al., Newsweek, 15 May 2000
The subways provided fine service, except that lately there had been a problem. Packs of young toughs had taken to roaming the cars.
—Tom Wolf, Harper's, November 1989
didn't want her son hanging out with the neighborhood toughs
Verb
Summer in New York is coasting the dairy aisle at Safeway. … It's finding the spot in a subway car where the vent blows strongest and staying there past your stop, toughing it out when the "excuse me, ladies and gentlemen" hard-luck stories blow through.
—Guy Trebay, Village Voice, 30 July 1991
… they were toughing it out with the help of the greatest ally a macho young cop ever had, booze.
—Joseph Wambaugh, Lines and Shadows, 1984
Recent Examples on the Web
Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 28 Apr. 2025
However, the emotional side of living with the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be just as tough.
—Caitlin Carlson, SELF, 28 Apr. 2025
ABC News, 6 Apr. 2025
In a social media post yesterday, the president urged the country to hang tough, all this as tens of thousands of people took to the streets yesterday from Washington, D.C., to Minnesota and Columbus, Ohio, protesting many of Trump's policies, Elon Musk and tariffs.
—CBS News, 6 Apr. 2025
Kelly Iko, The Athletic, 11 Apr. 2024
When a set of tortuous toughs relocate to the neighborhood, his temperament shifts and the scenes increasingly unravel the inner workings of his shaken psyche.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 23 Sep. 2024
Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2025
Embiid is clearly trying to tough out the season, but the Sixers need to step in and save him from himself.
—Tony Jones, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tough
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Four times, he’s used it to strikeout hitters, with the horizontal break being tough to pick up.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 28 Apr. 2025
However, the emotional side of living with the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be just as tough.
—Caitlin Carlson, SELF, 28 Apr. 2025
Adverb
Trump's message Saturday, hang tough, the gain will be worth the pain.
—ABC News, 6 Apr. 2025
In a social media post yesterday, the president urged the country to hang tough, all this as tens of thousands of people took to the streets yesterday from Washington, D.C., to Minnesota and Columbus, Ohio, protesting many of Trump's policies, Elon Musk and tariffs.
—CBS News, 6 Apr. 2025
Noun
Williams is already Beale Street jerky tough and looks like a plug-and-play 3-and-D wing.
—Kelly Iko, The Athletic, 11 Apr. 2024
When a set of tortuous toughs relocate to the neighborhood, his temperament shifts and the scenes increasingly unravel the inner workings of his shaken psyche.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 23 Sep. 2024
Verb
Toledo got through the next few months with difficulty, canceling some shows and doing his best to tough it out at others.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2025
Embiid is clearly trying to tough out the season, but the Sixers need to step in and save him from himself.
—Tony Jones, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tough
Cite this Entry
“Tough.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tough. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tough
1 of 2 adjective1
a
: able to take great force : flexible and not brittle
tough fibers
b
: not easily chewed
tough meat
2
: marked by firmness or determination
a tough policy
3
: able to stand hard work and hardship
tough soldiers
4
: hard to influence : stubborn
a tough bargainer
5
: very difficult
a tough problem
6
: having much crime or bad behavior
a tough neighborhood
toughly
adverb
toughness
noun
tough
2 of 2 noun
: a tough person : rowdy
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