Word.ws English Dictionary

tough as teak

tough as teak adjective: very tough.

Adjective

tough as teak (not comparable)

  1. (simile) Very tough.
    • We could not find that she had sustained any material damage, for thanks to the Hindostane builder, the old Brougham is as tough as teak and nails can make her.1842, H.H. Chambers (publisher), The New Zealand Journal, Volume 3, page 282
    • Big Salvo was up there with the greatest front rowers of the 90's. Like O'Doherty he had it all. He was as tough as teak, made the hard yards, was a punishing defender, and had amazing ball skills for a man his size. Injury and suspension unfortunately dampened his career, he was somewhat...1999 August 25, Dr Who, “Most Under Rated Players - This Decade”, in aus.sport.rugby-league (Usenet)

Examples of tough as teak in a sentence

  • He was as tough as teak, made the hard yards, was a punishing defender, and had amazing ball skills for a man his size.1999 August 25, Dr Who, “Most Under Rated Players - This Decade”, in aus.sport.rugby-league (Usenet):
  • Sammy knew Johnny was as tough as teak and he carried a punch like a sledgehammer blow.2000, James Hadley Chase, Knock, Knock! Who's There?, page 4:
  • "beneath their Golden State polish these records are as tough as teak, with a swagger imparted by as good a phrasemaker as ever made rock and roll records."2003 October 11, Helen Cushion, “Uncut Magazine Uk November issue”, in alt.music.zevon (Usenet):

Origin of tough as teak

First use appears c. 1842. See cite below.

Questions about tough as teak

What does tough as teak mean?
Tough as teak means very tough.
How do you use tough as teak in a sentence?
He was as tough as teak, made the hard yards, was a punishing defender, and had amazing ball skills for a man his size.
What part of speech is tough as teak?
Tough as teak is an adjective.

Words near tough as teak in the dictionary

  1. tough
  2. tough act to follow
  3. tough acts to follow
  4. tough as nails
  5. tough as old boots
  6. tough as teak
  7. tough ask
  8. tough bananas
  9. tough beans
  10. tough break
  11. tough call

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tough as teak (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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