robust

The word “robust” means strong and healthy, or built to handle stress and hard use without breaking down. In plain terms, strong, sturdy, and able to withstand pressure, damage, or failure.

“Robust” is pronounced roh-BUHST (/ɹoʊˈbʌst/ in IPA).

Here is “robust” used in a sentence: “The bridge was designed with a robust steel frame to survive earthquakes.”

“Robust” is an adjective.

The word “robust” comes from Latin. From Latin robustus, "made of oak" or "strong," from robur, meaning oak wood.

“Robust” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the C1 level.

“Robust” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: strong and healthy, or built to handle stress and hard use without breaking down.

Strong describes great physical power or force, while robust adds the idea of being able to withstand stress, strain, or hard use without breaking down. A person can be strong, but calling them robust also implies sturdiness and good health.

Sturdy usually describes something solidly and firmly built, such as furniture or a structure. Robust carries that meaning too but extends more naturally to abstract things like a robust economy, a robust argument, or a robust computer system.

A robust system resists problems and keeps working properly even when conditions are difficult. A resilient system may bend or fail briefly but recovers quickly afterwards, so robustness is about resisting disruption while resilience is about bouncing back.

Robust frequently pairs with words like health, economy, growth, system, defence, and debate. It is a positive, fairly formal adjective often used to praise something as strong, healthy, or well able to cope.