How to Use tough in a Sentence

tough

1 of 4 adjective
  • Are you tough enough for the job?
  • She had a tough time in college.
  • He's been hanging around with a bunch of tough guys.
  • The rug is made of tough material.
  • Nacre is both strong and tough.
    — Caitlin Kennedy, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2026
  • City have some tough games left.
    — Mark Carey, New York Times, 4 May 2026
  • The tough talk doesn’t stop there.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Yeah, those four months were tough.
    — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 30 Sep. 2025
  • That’s tough to come back from.
    — Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Award shows are in a tough place right now.
    — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 7 June 2026
  • Does that get tough to hear over and over again?
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
  • This stretch, though, looks quite a bit tougher.
    — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 16 Sep. 2025
  • But Jose was tough on those kids.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2026
  • Okay, fine, tough day for Calv.
    — Emma Specter, Vogue, 5 Mar. 2026
  • It's been a tough few weeks for Richard.
    — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 June 2026
  • The Nets’ night got even tougher from there.
    — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 11 Mar. 2026
  • There are so many things, and there are some that are so tough.
    — Hemal Jhaveri, WIRED, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Some mothers are tough to shop for.
    — Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 2 May 2026
  • We are faced with a tough tradeoff.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
  • And so she was given a very tough task.
    — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
  • That was the toughest thing to watch.
    — Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
  • That is going to be very tough to beat.
    — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 15 June 2026
  • That’s the tough part of today.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 6 June 2026
  • That's a tough pill to swallow.
    — Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Arvidsson might be an even tougher guess.
    — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 2 May 2026
  • Next game’s going to be tougher.
    — Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
  • Kristine had a crazy tough-love phase.
    — Rachel Handler, Vulture, 18 May 2026
  • Koenen said things are even tougher this year.
    — Natasha Chen, CNN Money, 25 May 2026
  • Grace was so much tougher in the first one, and so much more fun.
    — Michael Ordoña, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Her tough-guy act doesn’t always work.
    — Jesse Dorris, Pitchfork, 25 Feb. 2026

tough

2 of 4 adverb
  • He talks tough but he's not really dangerous.
  • Trump's been talking tough on it for 40 years!
    — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026
  • Dias, known for his no-nonsense/ tough-talking style, has led the union for nine years.
    — Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 17 Feb. 2022
  • But Izzo hung tough to strand six runners.
    — Tony Baranek, Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Floyd was caught in the grips of America’s tough-on-crime era.
    — Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2020
  • Plus, of course, those drawn to such a tough-looking truck for lifestyle reasons.
    — Mike Duff, Car and Driver, 1 July 2020
  • The cold air hangs tough over the area, with highs mainly in the lower 40s.
    — David Streit, Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2018
  • Harris played tough but lost another one-on-one late in the fourth quarter.
    — Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, 28 Dec. 2020
  • Yo influence has entered the people’s veins so tough back at home and across the world.
    — Rasha Ali, USA TODAY, 16 Aug. 2020
  • In response, many Democrats are touting their own tough-on-crime message.
    — Time, 3 Nov. 2022
  • But, in the meantime, maybe tough-on-crime politicians should stop blaming the victim.
    — Erika D. Smithcolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2022
  • That made getting information in the bond market tough even for traders.
    — Stephen Gandel, CBS News, 20 Feb. 2020
  • Kids were obsessed and viewed McCurdy as their own tough-as-nails best friend.
    — Ashley Spencer, Washington Post, 5 Aug. 2022
  • The Lancers hung tough against the Beavers and led 45-39 at halftime.
    — oregonlive, 17 Nov. 2021
  • It’s built tough with a durable titanium body and a big, bright display that’s easy to read even in sunlight.
    — PC Magazine, 1 Dec. 2025
  • Much of his final year focused on a replay of Richard Nixon's tough-on-crime rhetoric.
    — Julian Zelizer, CNN, 23 June 2021
  • By the 1990s, both major parties had adopted tough-on-crime stances.
    — Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2020
  • The activists rejected putting the pain of survivors at the service of tough-on-crime policies.
    — New York Times, 17 Nov. 2021
  • The Celtics hung tough in Game 1, leading by 12 in the first half, but succumbed.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 31 May 2021
  • The fit and cut as exceptional, and the light, soft fabric has held up tough against cold, wet conditions.
    — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 15 Dec. 2025
  • It’s built tough with water resistance for pool days or unexpected rain.
    — PC Magazine, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Springer, a tough-looking Kiwi with a salt-and-pepper beard, was one of the managers of the program.
    — Simon Willis, Travel + Leisure, 14 Dec. 2021
  • To their credit, the young Rockets hung tough against a team with title aspirations.
    — Rahat Huq, Chron, 27 Oct. 2021
  • The tough-talking leader repeated his death threats to drug lords preying on young Filipinos.
    — Jim Gomez, Star Tribune, 1 June 2021
  • Atlanta hung tough without Young against the Raptors but couldn’t come up with the critical plays down the stretch.
    — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 4 Feb. 2022
  • The brash language is not unusual for Duterte, a tough-talking populist who is most known for a bloody war on drugs that has left thousands dead.
    — Washington Post, 22 June 2021
  • The Blazers hung tough in the first quarter, falling behind 34-29.
    — oregonlive, 27 Dec. 2021
  • Meanwhile, Biden was passing the 1994 bill that furthered the era's tough-on-crime policies.
    — Kathleen Ronayne, Star Tribune, 31 July 2020
  • Will Cortez Masto’s tough-on-crime credentials be enough to return her to the Senate?
    — Paul Begala, CNN, 19 Oct. 2022
  • In the end Blake and Katie rose above tough-talking family members and proposal nerves and got engaged.
    — Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 10 Aug. 2021

tough

3 of 4 noun
  • And Susan Collins, as Democrats have seen time and time again, is a real tough out.
    — NBC news, 21 June 2026
  • Buddhist toughs threatened taxi drivers and merchants from Kargil, telling them they weren’t allowed to work in Leh.
    — Suhasini Raj and Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2017
  • Temple toughs threatened Kinsolving’s bosses and the series was cut.
    — Barton Swaim, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2018
  • Overcharging the group seemed like a political move to boost his reelection as a tough on crime prosecutor.
    — Dahleen Glanton, chicagotribune.com, 7 Nov. 2019
  • The fish has a tough, albeit flexible, inner layer bound by collagen to mineralize the outer layer of scales.
    — Fox News, 18 Oct. 2019
  • An immaculate white convertible — the BMW of its day — and well out of the reach of a pack of teenage Orange toughs.
    — Longreads, 16 June 2018
  • Meanwhile, a running back on the underdog 49ers will find the sledding tough on the ground, providing gamblers with a desirable rushing under to bet.
    — Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Cazale played the title character, an older man who becomes lost in Manhattan and is harassed by two young toughs, one of whom was portrayed by Pacino.
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Mar. 2026
  • The gangland drama is deeper and darker than the domestic one, strengthened by the unexpected portrayal of the Russian toughs as bumbling in their own way.
    — Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026
  • The local toughs, led by the sadistic Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland), are headed the same way, albeit for different reasons.
    — Sezin Devi Koehler September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Martinez-Valdez, prosecutors say, was a street tough who earned a lucrative living by stepping into the sophisticated economic crime.
    — David Ovalle, miamiherald, 12 Jan. 2018
  • At one point, toughs from a drug-trafficking gang called Loyal To Familia arrived on motorbikes looking for members of Brothas, a rival group.
    — The Economist, 28 Nov. 2019
  • The schedule turns more difficult in Week 3 by an order of magnitude with trips to Texas Tech and Oregon and then a sneaky-tough home date with Houston.
    — Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025
  • These teams — there are precisely two in the series, vaguely rivalrous, unequally enlightened — are the tough who get going when the going gets too tough for the ordinary weapons and tactics of ordinary police officers.
    — Robert Lloyd, latimes.com, 2 Nov. 2017
  • In that version, the character is played by Joe Don Baker, the great character actor known for playing toughs in films like Walking Tall (1973) and Fletch (1985).
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
  • So, while Rue and Maddy are confabbing over milkshakes in a diner, Alamo sends Rue off for a drive with his two toughs, G (Marshawn Lynch) and the icy Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson).
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 11 May 2026
  • The Bookie & The Bruiser is set in 1959 New York City and features a pensive Jewish fellow named Rivner (James) and an oversized Italian-American tough named Boscolo (Vaughn).
    — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 4 May 2026

tough

4 of 4 verb
  • But now is not the time to silently tough it out, or to go dark.
    — Outside Online, 9 Apr. 2020
  • Just toughing it out with over-the-counter cold-and-cough stuff.
    — Bulletin Board, Twin Cities, 15 Dec. 2019
  • Should they be denied pain relief and told to tough it out?
    — Tami S. Rowen, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Physicians told them to tough out the joint pain and brain fog that comes with menopause.
    — Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 30 June 2026
  • But the fans, like this team, had to tough it out Saturday.
    — Michael Marot, Chicago Tribune, 25 Jan. 2026
  • Dead serious, caught a migraine, but just had to tough it out.
    — Edgar Thompson, orlandosentinel.com, 7 Oct. 2019
  • My style was to tough it out, which earned me great praise for strength, dignity, blah blah blah.
    — Washington Post, 1 Jan. 2021
  • But Moore toughed it out and made a final-round run that was fast enough for ninth in the overall title race.
    — Brett Hoffman, star-telegram, 27 Jan. 2018
  • Texans are a gritty people who believe in toughing it out no matter what’s thrown our way.
    — Karl Rove, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2017
  • The second shot was nearly an exact repeat with the hole toughing the first, ditto on the third shot.
    — Outdoor Life, 21 Jan. 2020
  • The most impressive macro factor throughout is that Philly was never out-worked or out-toughed.
    — Jeremy Woo, SI.com, 24 Apr. 2018
  • In tune with that idea, Aje offers a heart-rending depiction of a child trying to tough his way through pain.
    — Celia Wren, Washington Post, 30 May 2022
  • Unfortunately, the people who tough it out and open up a gallery are the true believers.
    — Mark Kurlyandchik, Detroit Free Press, 8 June 2018
  • As spores, fungi can tough out adverse conditions and drift thousands of miles in the wind to find more livable settings.
    — Sarah Zhang, Discover Magazine, 16 May 2012
  • Most people will try to tough it out with more over-the-counter medications, eye drops and nasal sprays, Portnoy said.
    — Kelsey Ryan, kansascity, 19 June 2018
  • According to Dorram, the hardest part of the roots look is toughing out the urge to color back over them.
    — Rachel Nussbaum, Glamour, 17 July 2017
  • Mom, Dad and their younger daughter try to tough out a dinner to which their pastor has invited himself and his wife.
    — Daryl H. Miller, latimes.com, 23 Mar. 2018
  • This little compact can tough it out on any outdoor adventure and in any weather conditions.
    — Paige Szmodis, Popular Mechanics, 17 Apr. 2019
  • Bessemer Academy is no stranger to tough early-season football games.
    — Dennis Victory, al, 15 Aug. 2019
  • The family toughed it out Friday night in hoodies and extra layers of blankets.
    — Meredith Cohn, baltimoresun.com, 6 Mar. 2018
  • With their hardy build and intelligence, malamutes will gladly tough out less-than-ideal conditions by your side.
    — Erin Berger, Outside Online, 18 Apr. 2013
  • And while many parents assume that middle school is a rite of passage that kids need to stoically tough out, the opposite could not be more true.
    — Sarah Molano, CNN, 10 Aug. 2021
  • Then came the Cup Series, where the kid toughed it out for 132 races without a victory.
    — George Diaz, OrlandoSentinel.com, 29 May 2017
  • Perhaps the Norse could have toughed it out in Greenland by fully adopting the ways of the Inuit.
    — Tim Folger, Smithsonian, 29 Mar. 2017
  • The English won their only previous two World Cup matchups, although both had to be toughed out.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Oct. 2019
  • En route to exploring his options, O’Neal opted to tough it out at A&M.
    — Brent Zwerneman, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Nov. 2021
  • The more both sides harden their resolve to tough it out, the greater the pressure on companies to hedge their bets on China and move elsewhere.
    — Gwynn Guilford, Quartz, 14 June 2019
  • Warner said about half the 1,000 residents of Ocracoke chose to tough it out.
    — Ben Finley, The Denver Post, 6 Sep. 2019
  • Arguably one of the most quintessential summer pastimes, camping, for most, is about roughing-and-toughing it out in the wild.
    — Michelle Profis, Country Living, 23 Mar. 2015
  • For many businesses there has been no real option but to tough it out until lockdowns ease, which in Germany may not be until the fall.
    — New York Times, 7 May 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tough.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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