tough

tough

I

tough¹ S2 W2 /tʌf/ adjective (comparative tougher, superlative toughest)1.  DIFFICULT difficult to do or deal with:
    It was a tough race.
    She’s had a tough life.
    The company admitted that it had been a tough year.
    Tough decisions will have to be made.
    The reporters were asking a lot of tough questions.
    have a tough time (of it) (=face a lot of difficult problems)
    The family has had a tough time of it these last few months.
    it’s tough doing something
    It’s tough being married to a cop.
    be tough on somebody (=cause problems for someone or make their life difficult)
    Having to stay indoors all day is tough on a kid.
    It was a tough call (=a difficult decision), but we had to cancel the game because of the weather.
    I find his books pretty tough going (=difficult to read).
    Gage predicted the president’s proposal would be a tough sell (=something that is difficult to persuade someone about) before Congress. American English
    when the going gets tough (the tough get going) informal (=used to say that when a situation becomes difficult, strong people take the necessary action to deal with it)
2.  STRONG PERSON physically or emotionally strong and able to deal with difficult situations:
    The men who work on the oil rigs are a tough bunch.
    tough cookie/customer informal (=someone who is very determined to do what they want and not what other people want)
    as tough as nails/as tough as old boots (=very tough)
    He’s as tough as nails – a good man to have on the team.
3.  STRONG MATERIAL not easily broken or made weaker:
    tough, durable plastic
    a very tough, hard-wearing cloth
4.  STRICT/FIRM very strict or firm
    tough on/with
    My mother was very tough on my sister.
    It’s time to get tough with drunk drivers.
    The EU is taking a tough line with the UK over this issue.
5.  VIOLENT AREA a tough part of a town has a lot of crime or violence
    tough neighborhood/area/part of town etc
    a tough area of Chicago
6. tough__/that’s tough__ spoken used when you do not have any sympathy with someone:
    ‘I’m getting wet.’ ‘Tough__ You should’ve brought your umbrella.’
    She didn’t tell us she was coming, so if this screws up her plans that’s just tough.
7. tough luck__ spoken
  a. used when you do not have any sympathy for someone’s problems:
    Well, that’s just their tough luck__ It was their mistake.
  b. British English used when you feel sympathy about something bad that has happened to someone:
    You didn’t get the job? Oh, tough luck__
8. tough shit__ spoken not polite used when you do not have any sympathy for someone’s problems
9.  VIOLENT PERSON likely to behave violently and having no gentle qualities:
    one of football’s most notorious tough guys
    tough young thugs looking for trouble
10.  FOOD difficult to cut or eat
   OPP  tender:
    The meat was tough and hard to chew.
    the tough outer leaves of the cabbage
11. tough love a way of helping someone to change their behaviour by treating them in a kind but strict way
—toughly adverb
—toughness noun [uncountable]

II

tough² verb
     
tough something ↔ out phrasal verb
  to deal with a difficult situation by being determined, rather than leaving or changing your decision:
    She told herself to be brave and tough it out.

III

tough³ noun [countable]
old-fashioned someone who often behaves in a violent way

IV

tough⁴ adverbin a way that shows you are very determined:
    Washington played tough in the second half of the game.
    You’re talking tough now but you wait until you get into the interview.