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
Megan Feringa, New York Times, 28 June 2025
Nor is anything that tough necessary to prevent chronic illness.
—Carolyn Rosenblatt, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 25 Apr. 2025
Trump's message Saturday, hang tough, the gain will be worth the pain.
—ABC News, 6 Apr. 2025
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 12 June 2025
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
Barry Collins, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
The team that would aim to tough the artistry and open skating out of the Florida Panthers and turn game and series into a grind.
Didn’t see that Carolina team the first two games of this NHL Eastern Conference finals.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 25 May 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
Even these young players already have major tournament experience — a huge strength given their tough group.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 28 June 2025
Nor is anything that tough necessary to prevent chronic illness.
—Carolyn Rosenblatt, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
Adverb
If the economic uncertainty of the past few weeks leads the U.S. into a full-fledged recession, studio and streamer marketing chiefs are confident Hollywood will hang tough against the headwinds.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 25 Apr. 2025
Trump's message Saturday, hang tough, the gain will be worth the pain.
—ABC News, 6 Apr. 2025
Noun
The most nail-biting scene in the movie involves not a local tough but Claire, desperate in withdrawal, threatening to kidnap and kill the family dog if Kate doesn’t give her some money.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 12 June 2025
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
Verb
Will Microsoft tough it out, and only offer patches to customers paying for Extended Support Updates?
—Barry Collins, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
The team that would aim to tough the artistry and open skating out of the Florida Panthers and turn game and series into a grind.
Didn’t see that Carolina team the first two games of this NHL Eastern Conference finals.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 25 May 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 9 Jul. 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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