Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use tough in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, interjection, noun

Tough means of a material, strong and resilient; sturdy. Example: “The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.”

Examples of tough by meaning

adjectiveOf a material, strong and resilient; sturdy.

  • The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.

adjectiveOf food, difficult to cut or chew.

  • To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.

adjectiveOf a person or animal, rugged or physically hardy.

  • Only a tough species will survive in the desert.
  • But before you quit turkey hunting and take up model-train collecting, let me give you the good news: you can score on tough turkeys.2010, Brian Lovett, Hunting Tough Turkeys, Stackpole Books, page 3

adjectiveOf a person, stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence.

  • He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.

adjectiveRowdy or rough.

  • A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.

adjectiveOf a question, difficult or demanding.

  • This is a tough crowd.

adjectiveStrict, not lenient.

  • tough on crime

interjectionUsed to indicate lack of sympathy.

  • If you don't like it, tough!
  • They were straight but they said, you know, tough.1986, Bernard Brannner, quoting Blackberri, “Blackberri: Singing for Our Lives”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay...

More sentences with tough

  • Even when times were tough, we got three squares a day.From the entry square
  • Raising six children who all went on to be doctors was a tough feat for us.From the entry feat
  • The new increase in crime argues for even tougher jail sentences, according to some.From the entry argue
  • Since the name change, Butch (née Frances) seems more tough and self-assured.From the entry née
  • This test is pretty tough, but I think I'm equal to it.From the entry equal
  • The steak was tough to chew as it had been cooked too long.From the entry chew
  • It's a tough stretch of road in the winter, especially without chains.From the entry stretch
  • Many politicians prefer to grandstand on hot-button issues rather than enact tough policy changes.From the entry grandstand
  • When the chips are down, you need to make tough decisions.From the entry when the chips are down
  • Your car broke down? Well, tough luck, you're due at work in 15 minutes. Better run.From the entry tough luck
  • Repeated hammerings by the smith thin the metal and make it tough.From the entry hammering
  • He had a steeliness of eye that tended to cow people who acted tough.From the entry steeliness
  • I was vegetizing in front of the TV after a tough week.From the entry vegetize
  • Families doing it tough will receive more assistance from the government.From the entry do it tough
  • This car has an excellent clearcoat. It's very tough and scratch-resistant.From the entry clearcoat
  • A: This job is too tough; I don't think I can do it!From the entry welcome to my world
  • A good therapist can cue in to even the toughest of clients.From the entry cue in
  • Getting my first job was tough, but my careers advisor helped me every step of the way.From the entry every step of the way
  • Whenever things get tough, she cuts and runs.From the entry run
  • This is going to be a tough sell.From the entry sell
  • Cook the potatoes well to ensure they aren't tough.From the entry well
  • It's a tough decision, but I'll take vanilla.From the entry decision
  • It's a tough job, but I'll manage.From the entry manage
  • You think you're so tough, huh? Let's go then!From the entry let's go
  • A tough question that made the press office squirm.From the entry squirm
  • The bike chain is open and exposed to tough environmental conditions such as temperature changes, humidity, rain, dirt and road salt.From the entry exposed
  • The beef jerky was tough and leathery.From the entry leathery
  • They really put me in the hot seat during that last job interview. They asked lots of tough questions.From the entry in the hot seat
  • He's tough. He's been through all the wars.From the entry wars
  • The war was a tough schoolmaster for the Athenians.From the entry schoolmaster

Meaning of tough

  1. adjective Of a material, strong and resilient; sturdy.
  2. adjective Of food, difficult to cut or chew.
  3. adjective Of a person or animal, rugged or physically hardy.

Full definition of tough

Questions about tough in a sentence

How do you use tough in a sentence?
Tough is used as an adjective, interjection and noun. For example: “The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.”
What is a short sentence with tough?
“tough on crime”
What does tough mean?
Tough means of a material, strong and resilient; sturdy.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tough (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this page: “How to use tough in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/tough. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.