tough

Universal Words adjective, noun, verb adjective (tougher, toughest) difficult 1 having or causing problems or difficulties: a tough childhood / match * It was a tough decision to make. * She's been having a tough time of it (= a lot of problems) lately. * He faces the toughest test of his leadership so far. * It can be tough trying to juggle a career and a family. strict / firm 2 ~ (on / with sb/sth) demanding that particular rules be obeyed and showing a lack of sympathy for any problems or suffering that this may cause: Don't be too tough on him-he was only trying to help. * It's about time teachers started to get tough with bullies. * The school takes a tough line on (= punishes severely) cheating. * Local traders are calling for tougher action against vandals. OPPSOFT strong 3 strong enough to deal successfully with difficult conditions or situations: a tough breed of cattle * He's not tough enough for a career in sales. * She's a tough cookie / customer (= sb who knows what they want and is not easily influenced by other people). 4 (of a person) physically strong and likely to be violent: You think you're so tough, don't you? * He plays the tough guy in the movie. meat 5 difficult to cut or chew OPPTENDER not easily damaged 6 not easily cut, broken, torn, etc: a tough pair of shoes * The reptile's skin is tough and scaly. unfortunate 7 ~ (on sb) (informal) unfortunate for sb in a way that seems unfair: It was tough on her being dropped from the team like that. * (ironic) 'I can't get it finished in time.' 'Tough!' (= I don't feel sorry about it.) toughly adverb toughness noun [U]: Her background had given her the physical and mental toughness that enabled her to fight for what she wanted. IDIOMS (as) tough as old boots