tough
/tʌf/ adjective B2- 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.
- Of a person, stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence. · He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.
- Of weather, harsh or severe.
- Rowdy or rough. · A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.
- Cool, awesome, great.
- Of a question, difficult or demanding. · This is a tough crowd.
Comparative tougher · Superlative toughest
Phrasal verbs and expressions
From the library
“You are old,” said the youth, “and your jaws are too weak For anything tougher than suet; Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak— Pray, how did you manage to do it?”
“Ah, ha,” cried Danglars, “this fellow is more like an ogre than anything else; however, I am rather too old and tough to be very good eating!”
Room 214 has a reputation for being tough, but don't take that at face value.
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