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# tough

«tough» in Mova's school dictionary: **strong and not easily broken, cut or damaged: «tough boots»** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (tough, tougher, toughest); noun (a tough — informal); verb (tough it out)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Tough means strong and not easily broken, cut or damaged: «tough boots». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#m1)

2) Tough means hard to do or difficult: «a tough test». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#m2)

3) A tough person is strong in body or mind and can deal with pain or problems. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#m3)

4) Tough food (like meat) is hard to cut or chew. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#m4)

5) Tough means strict and firm: «tough rules». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#m5)

6) «Tough!» or «Tough luck» is said, rather rudely, to mean «too bad». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#m6)

### sense in the lessons

In school, «a tough question» or «a tough day» means hard. In science, «tough» materials resist breaking; scientists choose tough plastics for helmets. In stories a tough character is brave and does not give up. In PE, «tough it out» means keep going. Phrases: «tough luck», «a tough time», «tough it out», «get tough with».

### examples

- These boots are tough enough for hiking. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#x1)
- The maths test was tough. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#x2)
- She is tough and never gives up. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#x3)
- This steak is too tough to chew. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#x4)
- We've had a tough week. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#x5)
- The new head is tough on bad behaviour. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#x6)
- Being tough doesn't mean you can't cry. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#x7)
- He tied the Mouse's leg to his own with a tough reed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/#x8)

### note

Pronounced «tuff» (ough = «uff», as in «enough», «rough»). Comparative: tougher, toughest. Noun: toughness. Myth: tough people never cry or ask for help — asking for help is brave.

### In the corpora

- [Horse teeth keep growing out and wearing down on tough grass, so a vet can guess a horse's age from its teeth.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/25-horses-zebras-and-donkeys/8/)
- [No real animal breathes fire; the bombardier beetle sprays a nearly boiling chemical mix from a tough chamber at attackers.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/146-shrek-s-dragon-real-dragons-and-lizards/5/)
- [Ostriches swallow pebbles, which collect in the gizzard and grind tough food, because birds have no teeth.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand/12/)
- [Scientists breed tougher corals and plant them back on damaged reefs.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/297-the-future-of-life-de-extinction-climate-coral-and-frozen-zoos/10/)
- [It is so tough that ginkgos near the Hiroshima bomb sprouted again from their roots, kept safe under the soil.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/380-china-s-plants-bamboo-ginkgo-lotus-tea-and-rice-paddies/3/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «tough» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tough/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.