get tough on

idiomatic phrase

: to deal harshly with

Greece promised last week to get tough on tax evasion …—

Alan Clendenning

Environmental groups and health agencies such as the American Lung Association have pushed lawmakers to get tough on polluters and enact stricter smog limits …—

Melissa Knopper

"… For a long time in the United States, the politics around law and order have been, get tough on crime. … "—

Paul Butler

Examples of get tough on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

California Californians broadly support Prop. 36 to get tough on crime, new poll finds Oct. 4, 2024 Oakland has become a focal point statewide for fears about crime. —

Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024 The city got tough on homelessness in 2023 after years of doing little to battle it because previous city councils tied the hands of law enforcement. —

Michael Slaten, Orange County Register, 4 Oct. 2024 California California lawmakers got tougher on crime this year. —

Anabel Sosa, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024 Others wanted the government to revive US manufacturing, while ditching free trade and getting tougher on China. —

Andrew Prokop, Vox, 15 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for get tough on

Word History

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of get tough on was in 1945

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Get tough on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%20tough%20on. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation