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
Wayne Sterling, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2025
Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs have a tough challenge ahead in Week 9, facing off against reigning league MVP Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in a road-game matchup at Highmark Stadium.
—Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025
Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
It’s built tough with water resistance for pool days or unexpected rain.
—PC Magazine, 13 Oct. 2025
Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
The surge coincides with his tough on crime takeover of DC.
—Anna Commander, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Should they be denied pain relief and told to tough it out?
—Tami S. Rowen, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tough
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
The Toronto Blue Jays bounced back from a tough Game 3 loss to even the World Series at two games apiece following a 6-2 Game 4 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.
—Wayne Sterling, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2025
Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs have a tough challenge ahead in Week 9, facing off against reigning league MVP Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in a road-game matchup at Highmark Stadium.
—Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025
Adverb
The San Francisco 49ers have been hanging tough despite being ravaged by the injury bug for the second year in a row.
—Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
It’s built tough with water resistance for pool days or unexpected rain.
—PC Magazine, 13 Oct. 2025
Noun
Doing so with a CVS receipt-long injury list is all kinds of tough.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
The surge coincides with his tough on crime takeover of DC.
—Anna Commander, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
Wilson went down after attempting to catch a pass late in the fourth quarter, which forced him to miss the final snap of the game despite attempting to tough it out earlier in the team's final possession.
—Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Should they be denied pain relief and told to tough it out?
—Tami S. Rowen, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 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 31 Oct. 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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