Internet
tuff
What does tuff mean?
A compliment for something that looks hard, clean, or impressive — most often an outfit, a car, a sneaker, a beat, a haircut. Visually and aesthetically coded; not used for, say, a kind gesture.
"Those new Jordans are tuff, where'd you cop them?"
Origin
Long-standing AAVE / hip-hop usage of 'tough' to mean excellent (think 1980s 'that's tough') — the 'tuff' respelling locks in the slang meaning and dominates Gen-Z text and captions in the 2020s.
Frequently asked questions
What does tuff mean?
Tuff means cool, sick, or impressive — it's a respelling of "tough" used as pure praise.
How do you use tuff in a sentence?
For example: "Those new trainers are tuff."
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