hang tough
"hang-tough" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hang tough” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To remain strong-willed or brave, especially when experiencing duress or adversity.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hang-tough · hang tough · English
hang tough · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hang tough |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “hang tough” in English
Rare enough to double-check
hang tough is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To remain strong-willed or brave, especially when experiencing duress or adversity.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for hang tough in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is hang tough, spelled H-A-N-G- -T-O-U-G-H.
Definition
- 1To remain strong-willed or brave, especially when experiencing duress or adversity.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how hang tough appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
But Hoop Dreams isn't mainly about sport, or even about life and death in the inner city. It's about families hanging tough on nerve and prayer.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.