tough

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   physically toughened

   The tough bottoms of my feet were earned by walking barefoot for an entire summer.

2. 2
   adj

   not given to gentleness or sentimentality

   a tough character

3. 3
   adj

   Strong and resilient; sturdy.

   The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.

4. 4
   adj

   Difficult to cut or chew.

   To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.

5. 5
   adj

   Rugged or physically hardy.

   Only a tough species will survive in the desert.

6. 6
   adj

   Stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence.

   He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.

7. 7
   adj

   Rowdy or rough.

   A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.

8. 8
   adj

   Difficult or demanding.

   This is a tough crowd.

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 *tinganą (“to press upon, throng”), from Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- (“to bite”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian toai (“tough”), Bavarian zaach, zach (“tough”), Dutch taai (“tough”), German zäh, zähe (“tough”), Limburgish tiee (“tough”), Luxembourgish zéi (“tough”); also Ancient Greek δάκνω (dáknō, “to bite”), Albanian danë, darë (“tong…