Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
tough. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
tough, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
tough in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
tough you have here. The definition of the word
tough will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
tough, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From 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”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
tough (comparative tougher, superlative toughest)
- (of a material) Strong and resilient; sturdy.
The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.
- (of food) Difficult to cut or chew.
To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.
- (of a person or animal) Rugged or physically hardy.
Only a tough species will survive in the desert.
2010, Brian Lovett, Hunting Tough Turkeys, Stackpole Books, page 3: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.
- (of a person) Stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence.
He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.
- (of weather, etc.) Harsh or severe.
- Rowdy or rough.
A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.
- (of questions, etc.) Difficult 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. And this is a tough question. In fact we would rank the question you've both raised as pretty high on our list of tough questions.
2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Earth: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, and get to that beacon.
- 2010, Rushworth M. Kidder, Good Kids, Tough Choices, Wiley (Jossey-Bass), page 96,
- What Lara faced, in fact, falls right into the pool of light beneath our second lens: making tough choices.
- (material science) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.
- Strict, not lenient.
tough on crime
Derived terms
Translations
rugged or physically hardy
rowdy or rough
- Armenian: please add this translation if you can
- Basque: please add this translation if you can
- Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
- Finnish: kova (fi)
- Georgian: უხეში (uxeši), ხულიგანი (xuligani)
- Greek: σκληρός (el) (sklirós)
- Khmer: កំណាច (km) (kɑmnaac)
- Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
- Portuguese: durão
- Thai: please add this translation if you can
- Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
|
Interjection
tough
- (slang) Used to indicate lack of sympathy
- If you don't like it, tough!
Translations
Noun
tough (plural toughs)
- 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.
2018, Sandeep Jauhar, Heart: a History, →ISBN, page 54: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.
Translations
one who obtains things by force
Translations to be checked
Verb
tough (third-person singular simple present toughs, present participle toughing, simple past and past participle toughed)
- To endure.
2009, Paul Walsh, You and I and Others, →ISBN, pages 64 - 65: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 winter's knuckles -- send rivulets of courage down to dandelions and tulips.
2011, Henry David Thoreau, Damion Searls, The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861, →ISBN, page 254:“No,” said Minott, “I've toughed it through the winter, and i want to stay and hear the bluebirds once more.
2012, Jerry Hopkins -, Extreme Cuisine: The Weird and Wonderful Foods That People Eat, →ISBN: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 toughing it, anyplace in the world...a must for campers, hikers, explorers, pilots, and others whose vocation or avocations require familiarity with the wilderness or out-of-doors..."
- To toughen.
Derived terms
Translations
Anagrams
German
Etymology
Borrowed from English tough; see also German taff.
Pronunciation
Adjective
tough (strong nominative masculine singular tougher, comparative tougher, superlative am toughsten or am toughesten)
- (slang) Alternative form of taff (“tough; robust; assertive and not overly sensitive”)
Declension
Comparative forms of tough
Superlative forms of tough
Further reading
- “tough” in Duden online
- “tough” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Middle English
Noun
tough
- Alternative form of tow