/tʌf/, /tɐf/, /tʊf/
OriginFrom Middle English tough, towgh, tou, toȝ, from Old English tōh (“tough, tenacious, holding fast together; pliant; sticky, glutinous, clammy”), from Proto-West Germanic *tą̄h(ī), from Proto-Germanic *tanhuz (“fitting; clinging; tenacious; tough”), from Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- (“to bite”).
Cognates
Cognate with Saterland Frisian toai, Low German tei, tah, tage, Dutch taai, Luxembourgish zéi, German zäh(e), Bavarian zaach, all principally “chewy, leathery, sticky”, and hence “tenacious, resilient, dogged”.
- Strong and resilient; sturdy.
“The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.”
- Difficult to cut or chew.
“To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.”
- Rugged or physically hardy.
“Only a tough species will survive in the desert.”
“But before you quit turkey hunting and take up model-train collecting, let me give you the good news: you can score on tough turkeys. In fact, you can kill the toughest turkey in the woods.”
- Stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence.
“He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.”
- usuallyHarsh or severe.
- Rowdy or rough.
“A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.”
- usuallyDifficult or demanding.
“This is a tough crowd.”
“1998, Lois Liederman Davitz, Joel Robert Davitz, 20 Tough Questions Teenagers Ask and 20 Tough Answers, Paulist Press, pages 6-7,
But let's get back to the tough question about sex before marriage. An”
“Anderson: We fought hard to get here. But now the toughest part of our mission begins.
Anderson: We've got to drive right through the heart of Reaper-controlled territory, break past their defenses, a”
- materialUndergoing plastic deformation before breaking.
- Strict, not lenient.
“tough on crime”
“President Joe Biden is embracing tougher border measures, including shutting down the US-Mexico border, marking a stark shift from his early days in office as he tries to fend off former President Don”
- slangUsed to indicate lack of sympathy
“If you don't like it, tough!”
- A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.
“They were doing fine until they encountered a bunch of toughs from the opposition.”
“One of his best stories was "Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life" (1914), of which there survives only an amusing still, showing poor Mabel Normand chained to the rails by two toughs, the moustached vil”
“He was in his early fifties, extensively tattooed, just the sort of tough I wouldn't want to meet alone in a parking lot at night, but right then he was whimpering.”
- To endure.
“We shall reminisce on how we toughed it through the winters as they reached the firm, long arm around to give the cold embrace, with ardor seldom loosed till warm winds Marched or Apriled in to soften”
““No,” said Minott, “I've toughed it through the winter, and i want to stay and hear the bluebirds once more.”
“Universal Plant Edibility Test The following sounds like a lot of work—it is!—but that's because it comes from the US Army Survival Manual as republished in 1994 as "a civilian's best guide for toughi”
- To toughen.
Formstougher(comparative) · toughest(superlative) · toughs(plural) · toughs(present, singular, third-person) · toughing(participle, present) · toughed(participle, past) · toughed(past)