Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A rock composed of compacted volcanic ash varying in size from fine sand to coarse gravel.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • An old spelling of tough.
  • noun Same as tuft.
  • noun A volcanic fragmental rock, varying from coarse deposits made of materials resembling fine gravel in size to those which are like the finest sand.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Min.) Same as tufa.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective older and simplified spelling of tough
  • noun geology A light porous rock, now especially a rock composed of compacted volcanic ash varying in size from fine sand to coarse gravel.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun hard volcanic rock composed of compacted volcanic ash

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French tuf, from Old French, from Old Italian tufo, tufa; see tufa.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old English tōh, from Proto-Germanic *tanhuz

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French tuffe, tuf, from Italian tufo, from Latin tōfus.

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Examples

Comments

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  • "Soon they are standing before the fort's entrance, which is flanked by carvings of a pair of guards cut into the foamy volcanic tuff: halberd-brandishing Spaniards in blousy pants and conquistador helmets."

    Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, p 121 of the Avon Books paperback edition

    January 26, 2013

  • 1. n. Geology

    lithified volcanic ash.

    June 28, 2015