Meaning of “tough” in the English Dictionary

I can't eat this meat - it's too tough.
Polyurethane varnish provides a tough, scratch-resistant finish.
We need a mayor who is tough enough to clean up this town.
You'll need some fairly tough footwear to go walking up mountains.
Several governments have adopted tough new anti-terrorist legislation in the wake of the attacks.

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Physically strong and powerful

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Strong-willed

tough adjective (DIFFICULT)

B2 difficult to do or to deal with:

They've had an exceptionally tough life.

They will be a tough team to beat.

The company is going through a tough time at the moment.

We've had to make some very tough decisions.

My boss has given me a tough job/assignment.

Many homeless people are facing a tough winter.

More examples

It's been a tough six months and I feel I've earned a few weeks off.
We'll have to make some tough decisions - there are no easy options.
It's going to be a tough competition but I'm mentally prepared for it.
This course is really tough, - sometimes I feeling like packing it all in.
Now I'm going to ask you a really tough question - are you ready?

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Complicated and difficult to do

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tough adjective (FOOD)

B2 Tough food is difficult to cut or eat:

This steak is very tough.

These apples have tough skins.

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Not pleasant to eat or drink

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tough adjective (VIOLENT)

› likely to be violent or to contain violence; not kind or pleasant:

a tough neighbourhood

Many of the country's toughest criminals are held in this prison.

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Violent or aggressive

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tough adjective (UNLUCKY)

C2 informal unlucky:

"I have to work late today because I'm very behind on my work." "Oh, tough luck!"

It's tough on Geoff that he's going to miss the party.

› informal sometimes used to show that you have no sympathy for someone's problems or difficulties:

"I don't have any money left." "Well, (that's just) tough - you shouldn't have spent it all on cigarettes."

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Good luck and bad luck

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Expressions meaning 'it isn't important to me'

toughly

adverb uk /ˈtʌf.li/ us /ˈtʌf.li/

›

These boots are very toughly (= strongly) made.

The newspaper published a toughly worded article about racist behaviour.

We live in a toughly competitive world.

toughness

uk /ˈtʌf.nəs/ us /ˈtʌf.nəs/

She has a reputation for toughness (= being strong and determined).

They can't face the toughness of the competition.

Idiom(s)

it's tough at the top

(as) tough as old boots

tough luck

toughnoun [ C ]

uk /tʌf/ us /tʌf/ also toughie old-fashioned informal

› a violent person:

Bands of armed toughs roamed the city.

More examples

There are some pretty tough children in his class.
He worked for a group of tough masters.
His bosses were really tough.

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Unpleasant people in general

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(Definition of “tough” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"tough" in American English

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(Definition of “tough” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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tough

We also believe that those countries which, for various reasons, have exposed their agriculture to a tough market in recent years should not be treated unfairly.