Sportpart of a golf course bordering the fairway, on which the grass, weeds, etc., are not trimmed:The ball landed in the rough.
anything in its unfinished or early form, as a drawing:drawn in the rough.
adv.
in a rough manner; roughly:I'm warning you, that mob plays rough.
v.
rough up, to treat (someone) with physical violence: [~ + up + object]The muggers roughed up their victim.[~ + object + up]They always rough their victims up.
to make or shape roughly or in outline: [~ + in + object]The designers roughed in the placement of the windows.[~ + out + object]She roughed out a few plans.
Idioms
Idiomsrough it, [Informal.]to live without comforts or conveniences:roughed it in the bush for two years.
rough(ruf ),USA pronunciationadj.,-er, -est,n., adv., v. adj.
having a coarse or uneven surface, as from projections, irregularities, or breaks; not smooth:rough, red hands; a rough road.
shaggy or coarse:a dog with a rough coat.
(of an uninhabited region or large land area) steep or uneven and covered with high grass, brush, trees, stones, etc.:to hunt over rough country.
acting with or characterized by violence:Boxing is a rough sport.
characterized by unnecessary violence or infractions of the rules:It was a rough prize fight.
violently disturbed or agitated; turbulent, as water or the air:a rough sea.
having a violently irregular motion; uncomfortably or dangerously uneven:The plane had a rough flight in the storm.
stormy or tempestuous, as wind or weather.
sharp or harsh:a rough temper.
unmannerly or rude:his rough and churlish manner; They exchanged rough words.
disorderly or riotous:a rough mob.
difficult or unpleasant:to have a rough time of it.
harsh to the ear; grating or jarring, as sounds.
harsh to the taste; sharp or astringent:a rough wine.
coarse, as food.
lacking culture or refinement:a rough, countrified manner.
without refinements, luxuries, or ordinary comforts or conveniences:rough camping.
requiring exertion or strength rather than intelligence or skill:rough manual labor.
not elaborated, perfected, or corrected; unpolished, as language, verse, or style:a rough draft.
made or done without any attempt at exactness, completeness, or thoroughness; approximate or tentative:a rough guess.
crude, unwrought, nonprocessed, or unprepared:rough rice.
Phoneticsuttered with aspiration; having the sound of h; aspirated.
n.
something that is rough, esp. rough ground.
Sport[Golf.]any part of the course bordering the fairway on which the grass, weeds, etc., are not trimmed.
the unpleasant or difficult part of anything.
anything in its crude or preliminary form, as a drawing.
British Terms[Chiefly Brit.]a rowdy; ruffian.
in the rough, in a rough, crude, or unfinished state:The country has an exciting potential, but civilization there is still in the rough.
adv.
in a rough manner; roughly.
v.t.
to make rough; roughen.
to give a beating to, manhandle, or subject to physical violence (often fol. by up):The mob roughed up the speaker.
to subject to some rough, preliminary process of working or preparation (often fol. by down, off, or out):to rough off boards.
to sketch roughly or in outline (often fol. by in or out):to rough out a diagram; to rough in the conversation of a novel.
Sportto subject (a player on the opposing team) to unnecessary physical abuse, as in blocking or tackling:The team was penalized 15 yards for roughing the kicker.
v.i.
to become rough, as a surface.
to behave roughly.
rough it, to live without the customary comforts or conveniences; endure rugged conditions:We really roughed it on our fishing trip.
bef. 1000; Middle English (adjective, adjectival and noun, nominal); Old English rūh (adjective, adjectival); cognate with Dutch ruig, German rauh