Skip to the word

Added 4 October 2026

rough

/ɹʌf/ adjective

In Latin: asper Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about rough at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Not smooth; uneven.
rough hands
Approximate; hasty or careless; not finished.
a rough copy
Turbulent.
rough sea

noun

The unmowed part of a golf course.
A rude fellow; a coarse bully; a rowdy.
A scuffed and roughened area of the pitch, where the bowler's feet fall, used as a target by spin bowlers because of its unpredictable bounce.

verb

To create in an approximate form.
Rough in the shape first, then polish the details.
To break the rules by being excessively violent.
To commit the offense of roughing, i.e. to punch another player.

adverb

In a rough manner; rudely; roughly.

Origin

From Middle English rough, roughe, roȝe, row, rou, ru, ruȝ, ruh, from Old English rūg, rūh, from Proto-Germanic *rūhaz. Cognate with Scots ruch, rouch (“rough”), Saterland Frisian ruuch, rouch (“rough”), West Frisian rûch (“rough”), Low German ruuch (“rough”), Dutch ruig (“rough”), German rau(h) (“rough”), Danish ru (“uneven on the surface, "rough", "rugged"”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word